The real estate industry’s largest event, Expo Real, is held annually in the German city of Munich. This year, the fair attracted some 1,700 exhibitors and 40 ,000 visitors from all over the world.
The joint exhibition stand of the Finnish cities of Helsinki, Tampere, Turku and Vantaa, together with the real estate and construction companies of Senate Properties, NCC and KIRAHub, highlighted the cities’ robust growth and the various investments in the pipeline to support this expansion. A pre-launch of the upcoming ideas and implementation competition for Helsinki’s decommissioned Hanasaari power station site was also organised at the fair. Mayor of Helsinki Daniel Sazonov, Managing Director of HafenCity Hamburg Andreas Kleinau, and Professor Jacob van Rijs from the architectural firm MVRDV participated in a panel discussion on the subject. Managing Director of KTI Finland Hanna Kaleva served as the panel moderator.
“It was great to finally have the opportunity to present Hanasaari – one of Helsinki’s most significant future urban development projects – to international stakeholders at Expo Real. Over the past few decades, Helsinki has successfully transformed several former port and power station areas close to the city centre into vibrant city neighbourhoods, and Hanasaari is the latest project of this kind. Surrounded by the sea and just a few minutes from the city centre, the area’s location makes it an exceptional development site and one that is quite rare even by international standards,” said Sazonov.
“We want to make Hanasaari into an internationally appealing and forward-looking neighbourhood that respects its history while offering new homes, workplaces and a dynamic new urban environment for thousands of Helsinki residents. I hope that the ideas and implementation competition will generate innovative and surprising solutions for the area’s development, as well as for the iconic old power station buildings that symbolise the site,” Sazonov continued.
The ideas and implementation competition for the development of Hanasaari will launch officially on 16 November. The open international competition seeks to find both an implementation partner and novel solutions for the neighbourhood’s development, including a new vision for the future of the iconic structures on the property. The upcoming competition attracted a great deal of interest at the trade fair, primarily due to the area’s central location, large scale and the development potential of the area and its buildings.
The "Helsinki Finland” exhibition stand was bustling with activity, and events hosted there attracted large crowds. The trade fair offered the cities’ attending partner companies the opportunity to make new contacts and learn more about the European real estate market and current industry trends.
What’s in store for Hanasaari?
Plans are underway to transform the decommissioned Hanasaari power plant area in Helsinki’s inner city into a distinctive new neighbourhood, starting in the 2030s. On 16 November, the City of Helsinki will launch an international ideas and implementation competition for the area’s development and construction.
The goal is for the new Hanasaari district to provide homes for at least 3,000 residents, new jobs, attractive new urban spaces, parks, waterfront paths and a new school. Construction of the new district could potentially begin in the 2030s.
The competition hopes to find a high-quality master plan that will serve as the basis for the development, planning and implementation of the area. A concept for the future use of the old brick power station buildings is also being sought. The competition will put particular emphasis on high-quality planning and design of the urban structure and cityscape. Entries must also show due consideration for the area’s cultural and historical values and industrial history.
A decision on the future use of the power station has not yet been made, as the competition is expected to provide a solution. Development of the site may involve a combination of preserving some of the existing buildings and demolishing others to make way for new construction. Due to the exceptional demands of the project, the City of Helsinki is offering the competition’s winner the opportunity to develop the area in partnership with a joint venture to be established together with the city.
The competition aims to identify a developer who, together with their design team and partners, will play a key role in the development of the Hanasaari district. If everything goes according to plan, the winner of the competition will both carry out the redevelopment of the site for a new uses and manage the construction of a significant part of the new neighbourhood.