KRUUNUSILLAT International design competition A brief outline of the competition 20.2.2013 Kruunusillat

• Kruunusillat is a traffic connection currently being designed for linking maritime Kruunuhaka and the future island district of Kruunuvuorenranta. • The competition area is situated between and Kruunuvuorenranta. • Kruunusillat is meant for trams, cyclists and pedestrians. • The bridge connection would significantly shorten the distance between city centre and Kruunuvuorenranta. • The competition will be held to ascertain what kinds of options exist. • As a result of the competition, information will be obtained for assessing the traffic connection’s environmental impact. • The competition is international because we want the world’s top experts for this challenging task. • The connection will be situated in the middle of a national landscape. The bridge connection must be of high aesthetic quality and should be appropriate for the landscape and natural environment. • The design has to be safe in all weather conditions and it must enable a free, unobstructed flow of traffic.

The City of Helsinki wants to favour sustainable forms of traffic, such as rail transport, and improve the standard of service of public transport. The bridge connection proposal meets this requirement. The bridge connection would also enhance provisions for pedestrian traffic and cycling.

2 KRUUNUSILLAT International design competition The City of Helsinki will hold an international design competition for Kruunusillat. The aim is to attract the world’s best bridge experts here to design the new tram, cycle and pedestrian connection between centrally located Kalasatama and ’s Kruunuvuorenranta. The bridge connection would be made up of at least two bridges, the longest of which could be, at nearly 1.2 kilometres, the longest in . The main focus of the task lies in designing the longest stretch of the bridge across the Kruunuvuorenselkä sea area between Palosaari and Kruunuvuorenranta. The aim of the international bridge competition is to find a design that best meets the challenges set by the area’s landscape and cultural history. The bridge is meant as a piece of cultural heritage for future generations. Kruunuhaka - Tervasaari - Kalasatama/Nihti – – Palosaari - Kruunuvuorenranta The whole Kruunusillat traffic connection will stretch from Kruunu- haka, located in the eastern part of the Helsinki peninsula, to Kruunuvuorenranta on Laajasalo’s western shoreline. It will extend from the end of the street Liisankatu in Kruunuhaka to the southern- most tip of Kalasatama – the area of Nihti – bypassing Tervasaari. From there, a 300-metre-long bridge will continue on to Korkeasaari, and from Korkeasaari to Kruunuvuorenranta via Palosaari.

3 For trams, cyclists and pedestrians Kruunusillat bridges would be used by trams, cyclists and pedestri- ans. According to estimates, the rail connection would be used daily by some 23,000 people once Kalasatama and Kruunuvuorenranta have been completed. The bridge connection would also be intended for emergency service vehicles and bridge maintenance-related traffic.

It is important for Kruunuvuorenranta to be directly connected to the centre. The direct connection would make this suburban area a part of the city centre proper and would significantly shorten travel time to and from the centre.

The traffic system will be developed in order to promote sustain- able forms of transportation, primarily by focusing on rail transport, improving the standard of service of public transport and by increas- ing the possibilities for walking and cycling.

- City of Helsinki Strategy 2009-2011

The know-how possessed by multidisciplinary teams wanted The competition is aimed at multi-disciplinary teams that must have expertise in at least the following areas: • bridge design • aesthetics related to bridge and traffic structures • form and architecture • landscape design • geotechnical engineering • street and traffic design • cost calculations for bridges • environmental impact assessments • life cycle design

4 The competition’s proceedings and its jury Some 50 international teams submitted their entries. After a very rigorous assessment, ten qualified for the actual competition phase.

Entries to the Kruunusillat design competition will be on display at Laituri exhibition room and on the City’s pages for residents’ comments from 20 February to 9 March 2013. The feed-back given by the public will be compiled into a summary which will be placed at the disposal of the jury. The jury will make their decision only after that.

The award winning bridge suggestion and other traffic suggestions will be evaluated according to the environmental impact assessment (EIA).

5 The jury

Representatives of the City of Helsinki • Pekka Sauri, Deputy Mayor, Public Works and Environmental Affairs, Chairman of the jury • Hannu Penttilä, Deputy Mayor, City Planning and Real Estate, Vice-chairman of the jury • Jarmo Nieminen, Chairman of the Board for General Works • Tapio Korhonen, Finance Director, Economic and Planning Centre • Maria Jaakkola, Head of Division, City Planning Department • Raimo K. Saarinen, City of Helsinki Engineer, Public Works Department • Jukka Salo, Director of Helsinki Zoo (Korkeasaari) • Juhani Tuuttila, Office Manager, Real Estate Department

Members from outwith the City of Helsinki • Pirjo Tulikukka, Executive Director, Helsinki Neighbourhoods Association • Anne Stenros, Vice President, Design, KONE Corporation and the experts named by the associations • Ilkka Vilonen, M.Sc. (Eng.), the Finnish Association of Civil Engineers RIL • Ville Hara, M.Sc. (Arch.), the Finnish Association of Architects SAFA • Jyrki Sinkkilä, M.Sc. (Arch.), the Finnish Association of Landscape Architects MARK

The secretary of the jury is Ville Alajoki, Project Manager (bridges), Street and Park Division, City of Helsinki Public Works Department.

6 Kruunusillat will connect the city centre and a new island district Kruunuhaka is an old city district located on the eastern side of the very centre of Helsinki. Kruunuvuorenranta is a new residential district being planned for the eastern side of the Kruunuvuorenselkä sea area, three kilometres from the centre. It is a part of the island of Laajasalo, located on the island’s western side. Construction work on the high-quality maritime district will begin in the next few years. By the year 2025, Kruunuvuorenranta will be home to 11,000 residents.

Also, the centrally situated Kalasatama, another example of a residential-business district in new maritime Helsinki, will be located by the bridge connection. By the year 2030, homes for 20,000 resi- dents and workplaces for some 8000 people will have been built in the former harbour area.

Additionally, Korkeasaari and Palosaari, which are home to Helsinki’s zoo, will be served by the bridge connection. A competition concern- ing the development of Korkeasaari was concluded in 2008.

The aim of the design competition is to find an innovative, expe- riential solution, the landscape-related, architectonic, technical, economic and environmental properties of which are of the highest quality, stand the test of time, and are worthy of the unique location.

Culturally historical, scenic and environmental value Maritime Helsinki is classified as one of Finland’s 27 national land- scapes. The views to Kruunuvuorenselkä, the South Harbour, Market Square, Katajanokka and are amongst this particular national landscape’s most valuable amenities.

In the bridges’ immediate vicinity and domain there will be several cultural environments of national importance • The national park islands of and Korkeasaari • The villa district • The villa district at the northern tip of Kruunuvuori and its northeastern manor park entity • Suomenlinna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and maritime fortress from the 1750s

A part of the competition area also belongs to the area, specified in the Helsinki Master Plan 2002, that is being developed as Helsinki Park, a waterway-related recreational area.

7 Construction costs As a whole, the bridge connection (e.g. all the bridges, tramways and other neccesary infrastructure) is estimated to cost when accom- plished 190 million Euros. This sum includes the in the contest programme mentioned 86 million Euros.

The design competition – one of Helsinki’s World Design Capital projects

Helsinki was World Design Capital 2012. The international design competition for Kruunusillat is one of Helsinki’s World Design Capital projects.

The design competition will be of international interest and will help Helsinki raise its profile as a sustainably developing city.

For more information on the competition, see www.kruunusillat.fi (in English only)

Helsinki New Horizons www.uuttahelsinkia.fi -> English

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