Studios White Arkitekter and K2S Architects are set to turn an underutilised area alongside Helsinki harbour into a cultural precinct incorporating several historic buildings.
Local practice K2S Architects and Sweden's White Arkitekter won the competition to revitalise the Makasiiniranta area on the city's South Harbour with a proposal called Saaret, or "The Islands", developed with the consortium Konsortium Gran.
The Makasiiniranta site covers 83,000 square metres and will include a long-discussed museum of architecture and design, which will be the subject of a separate competition in 2023.
The Saaret proposal includes a set of coastal squares for public enjoyment
The area is currently home to old port terminals and is the only remaining section of the old harbour in the Finnish capital that is cut off from public use. Under the Saaret proposal, it will be transformed with a series of coastal squares that will continue the public-access trail that goes all around Helsinki's cape.
The pedestrianised area will connect to the surrounding districts of Kaartinkaupunki, Ullanlinna and Kaivopuisto, and the existing main road of Laivasillankatu street will open up onto squares that frame views of the landmark Uspenski Cathedral and the Baltic Sea.
The plan preserves valued sightlines such as that to Uspenski Cathedral
Three historic buildings on the site ? the Old Market Hall, the Olympia Terminal and the Satamatalo building ? will be preserved, with the latter two turn...