Urban nature 3

Imagine the city of tomorrow is to anticipate new ways of life. With the development of public transportation, soft modes of mobility and the reduction of car traffic, the future of existing infrastructure is a critical question.

In Yliskyla, the highway becomes an urban boulevard where speed is reduced: cars are replaced by public transportation, pedestrians and bikes. New temporalities are setting up and facilitate new modes. New high urbanity areas emerge, where one can experience enjoying the city life.

The site carries a singular context, where nature is an important part of its identity (sea, vegetation, …). The main idea is to build up on it and to include it in a vision for the neighborhood in order to exploit their synergies. Around the boulevard, this neighborhood’s main roadway, a secondary grid is laid out. It is for pedestrians and cyclists only, which creates many connections between the boulevard, the bay and the existing neighborhoods and paths of the city.

The project is organized along the urban boulevard and is articulated around 4 urban and landscape sequences.

The south end hosts a “signal” architecture with buildings indicates the entrance to a new centrality. A dense mesh of trees is placed in the center area of a tramway line, in order to reduce noise pollution and elevate the natural aspect of the boulevard.

In Keskus, high-density buildings in direct interface with the mall outline the road side and the highly urban aspect of this sequence. There, a tramway station is integrated in the tree line.

Lahti’s neighborhood is resolutely facing the sea, notably through a great park extending to the sea front. The park is a leisure area,using the natural topography to create view points or ludic activities throughout the year (sleigh area, sun baths, …) Openings between the boulevard’s buildings enable other east-west connections and view on the sea. The center part of the boulevard, previously used by the tramway, now integrates a large planted ditch passively manages the run off water from the road.

At the north end, the project proposes buildings of decreasing height and a smaller density, allowing for a progressive transition to the bridge.

The proposed program facilitates interactions between inhabitants and workers during the day. On street level, shops, services, artisans, becomes an active interface between the public space and upper levels. In upper levels, flats are mixed with tertiary activities and equipments.