About the Town Plan for the Espoo Otakaari District

Architectural idea competitions are launched as an opportunity to  break new ground, often differing from the anticipated. An alternative, perspective can be embraced, thus remaining subjective from conventional development. Only here we can truly allow all possibilities to be fostered.

The ethos to strengthen the main roads is an excessive influence on the program, the dominance of these networks are overbearing  throughout the central Campus.

The subsequent Metro proposal radically changes the organizational complex of the Campus: roads are displaced from the site, creating a continuous space for pedestrians and cyclists.

The competition objectives suggest a green central corridor to replace roads. We consider this perhaps a too direct approach, preventing potential transformations, many issues may remain unsolved. Along with this, the new subway provides the university with great opportunities that deserved and should be considered.

The new axis planned for the site and it’s importance can be understood by the following: the enormity of both public and commercial space; the metro as a vital communication hub; and the 800 parking spaces required. To hide this under vegetation appears to be a lost opportunity. What about doing things inside out? Why not just build on that footprint? Why not nourish these public walkways, joining circulations encourage services? Why not bring to fruition the possibility of built in pedestrian circulations?

A spine for the Campus

Our proposal is a 44.000 sqm continuous building including the bulk of the programme. On the ground floor, students would dynamically move through a sequence of spaces (metro station, commerce and restaurants). Reaching out from the building mimicking branches, a network of paths will connect the nearby buildings. There will be only two exceptions regarding this system: the 8,000 m2 corresponding VTT will be placed in area YO-2, creating a new facade to the park; and a reservation of space for future needs in area YO-3 consolidating the Wood Research and Mechanical Engineering Laboratory complex.

Could a better illustration for the Campus exist? We have a yearning for a connected University, where students from different expertise can interact with each other: from fragmentation to unity, from dispersion to network, and all thanks to a tele-logical and intuitive intervention.

Single space Vs several spaces

A building that will structure the space, thus coordinating the park: this is the primary outside the box idea. The proposal carefully navigates the site, fragmenting the building according to individual programmes, holding geometric communication with the existing buildings, creating parklands on both sides. Now we can talk about a Unitarian Campus in its original meaning: as a large exterior space for students. We can also see it as a collection of spaces linked through this building, giving ownership and a gift to each building, a meadow for all.

Based again on the Urban Plan, the competition rules persuade to develop a set of dense and compacted volumes. In Architecture, as in personal relationships, respect is based on the careful and correct distance between parts.

Nothing should distract from the existing, mostly high quality architecture surrounding the site. It’s well-balanced and could easily be distorted. So, our proposal is to “take distance”. The new buildings will be situated far enough from the existing buildings in order to not disturb the current system. The Otaniemi Central Campus of Aalto University will be an intelligent tribute to a Master of Contemporary Architecture, an open, multi space campus built from an empty space, not from buildings

About Communications

Despite being in the advanced stage of the metro design, we would encourage a possible amendment once the competition is complete. As suggested from our broad experience, this would allowed a more rewarding return from this investment. We specifically refer to the design and situation of the metro stations, not to track, whose alteration is not being considered due to its complexity. We propose a simplified integrated station, as part of the main building. Pavement and cycle lanes will move through this point in all directions: lengthwise underneath the new building and across the site, accompanied by a network of roofed walkways, linking the entire campus. With this alteration, the other access points and the tunnel connection with the main station originally planned will no longer be required.