Jyväskylä, Finland 2015 architectural competition winner urban planning and housing
The City of Jyväskylä and Skanska Talonrakennus Oy arranged a public architectural competition for the first blocks of the old Kangas industrial area in Jyväskylä in 2014. Kangas is the most significant urban development project in the City of Jyväskylä during the next decade and, according to the city strategy, it should represent the best possible urban and construction planning, and set a model for the city of the future.
Check out a couple of completed buildings in the competition area.
The competition was arranged for finding residential design solutions as well as city planning solutions for the blocks. Apart from architecture, the jury gave special attention to the phasing of the construction, the energy efficiency of the solutions and habitation-related factors, such as community character and high-quality and diverse residential design. The purpose of the competition was to find a high-quality plan for a comfortable residential area to serve as foundation for the city planning and implementation of the first new construction phase. The plan should honour the provincially valuable culturohistorical industrial milieu and at the same time constitute the starting point and target level for the townscape of the whole Kangas implementation.
”The proposal convinces the jury with its strong city planning and architectural touch. The author of the proposal has carefully familiarised the component master plan and the backgrounds of the competition, which is reflected in the competence of the proposal. The proposal follows the general outline of the component master plan, introducing its own interesting interpretation. The presented material and colour palette creates subtle variation in the overall appearance of the area. Residential design is competent and in good compliance with the wishes of the competition organiser. The design of the immediate surroundings is robust with well-chosen materials. The loosely bounded mixed-use street is interesting and merges naturally in the industrial area.”
Excerpt from jury minutes
