There is lively discussion about the centre of Helsinki and its future. The centre is currently facing a number of challenges. This is in part due to the rapid increase in remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the transformation of trade driven by online shopping, the changes in movement, and the completion of shopping centres near good public transport connections.
Centres and their role are a major international theme of urban development. More and more cities around the world are investing in measures to increase the comfort and lushness of their centres as well as to promote walking and cycling. Centres are increasingly seen as places where people gather to meet each other. Experiences and events are an important part of the appeal of city centres.
The student competition task, which will start this autumn, is to generate ideas to increase the liveliness and attractiveness of Helsinki city centre and to strengthen its originality and special role. We are looking for a solution-oriented approach to discussion about the city centre.
“We hope that the competition entries will contain idea-rich, feasible proposals. The centre of Helsinki can certainly be a place where people want to go and which offers even more interesting things to experience for everyone. We encourage students from different disciplines to participate. When brainstorming about the future of the city centre, it is important to bring together the views of different areas of expertise,” says Ville Lehmuskoski, executive director from Helsinki Urban Environment Division.
“Increasing the attractiveness of Helsinki city centre is our common goal. Now is the right time to reach the next stage in the debate about the development of the city centre and to actively seek new, positive solutions. Shops and commercial services play an important role in the attractiveness of the city centre. Fresh development ideas from students in various fields, who are both today’s and future consumers, are also of interest to companies in the region,” says Pia Pakarinen, CEO of the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce.
The competition encourages presenting open-minded ideas
The competition programme will be announced during Helsinki Design Week in September 2023, after which the registration of the competition groups will begin. The groups participating in the competition can work until the end of 2023, and the results will be announced in early 2024.
The competition is open to all students. The university bodies involved in organising the competition are Aalto University's Department of Built Environment and the Urban Studies and Planning and Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering master’s programmes of the University of Helsinki and Aalto University, as well as those departments responsible for their teaching and the Department of Geosciences and Geography.
“The student competition to develop the attractiveness of the Helsinki city centre is in itself a very attractive topic for students, and at the same time an excellent learning task in terms of the challenges involved. International and multidisciplinary student teams can at best produce open-minded ideas and far-reaching visions for the elements and characteristics on which the permanent and emerging strengths of the city centre are built,” says Professor Raine Mäntysalo from Aalto University.
A prize of EUR 25,000 has been set aside for the competition to be distributed among the award-winning entries in accordance with the jury’s decision. The aim is also that the best competition ideas proceed for further development and ways of implementation are sought for them.