Garden of Lapinlahti Hospital. Photo: Yiping Feng ja Ling Ouyang. Helsinki Partners
Concept plan in preparation
The concept plan defines the future use of the hospital's main building, the Venetsia building and sauna building, as well as the facilities needed for the future activities.
The City of Helsinki prepared the first proposal for the concept plan together with NREP Oy. It was presented to the city residents and the current operators of the buildings in the spring of 2023. After this, the concept has been worked on together with Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo and the current tenants of the buildings: Lapinlahden Lähde and Tilajakamo. The feedback received from city residents through workshops, discussion sessions and surveys has been utilised in the work.
Welcome to a briefing session on Thursday 5 October 2023 at 5:30 pm
At the event, we will present the concept plan and the results of the condition surveys carried out on the buildings in the summer of 2023, as well as the schedule for the area’s development work. The event will be held in the auditorium of the main building of Lapinlahti Hospital from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm, coffee service from 5:15 pm. The space can accommodate about 90 people.
Ilmoittaudu tilaisuuteen tästä linkistä 2.10.2023 klo 12 mennessä. (Link leads to external service)
Schedule
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2020
- Autumn 2020: The investigative working group will prepare a report on the operating and implementation model and an action proposal for the development of the buildings in the Lapinlahti area.
- 22 June 2020: The Helsinki City Board decided to reject the result of the competition held in 2018–2020. It set guidelines for the development of the area and decided to appoint an external investigator for the project, whose task is to find a widely acceptable solution with a versatile operating concept for the area.
Decision of the City Board dated 22 June 2020(Link leads to external service)
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2021
- 22 January 2021: The report of the investigative working group is published.
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2022
- November 2022: Kerrokantasi online survey; what should be taken into account when planning the future use of the buildings (including accessibility, park use and services).
Kerrokantasi online survey 30 November 2022–20 January 2023 (Link leads to external service)
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2023
- Autumn 2023: Finishing the concept plan. Starting the renovation plans. A change in the local detailed plan will be initiated. A situational briefing open to all city residents will be held in the Hospital’s auditorium on 5 October 2023, 5:30 pm–7:00 pm.
- Summer 2023: The condition surveys of the buildings are completed.
- March-April 2023: Presentation of the proposal for the area’s operating concept. Workshops and a Kerrokantasi online survey, Uutta kantakaupunkia online hearing, and conversations with existing tenants.
- February 2023: A public operating concept workshop.
Kerrokantasi online survey 10 March–2 April 2023(Link leads to external service)
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2024
- The concept plan and ownership model will be submitted to the Urban Environment Committee in late spring 2024.
Frequently asked questions
The City of Helsinki has rented the premises of the main building of the Lapinlahti Hospital to Osuuskunta Lapinlahden tilajakamo and Lapinlahden Lähde Oy in 2015. The premises of the hospital area currently house operators engaged in the mental health, culture and well-being sector. Among other things, the area has cafes, a sauna, a handicraft shop, a flea market and a museum of mental health work.
The buildings in Lapinlahti were used as a hospital until 2006, when psychiatric care was centralised in the renovated Hesperia and Aurora Hospitals. The last hospital operations were moved away from Lapinlahti in 2008.
Yes, for building technology reasons, the buildings in the area need to be repaired. Harmful substances will be removed from the structures and accessibility will be improved. The ventilation and sewer systems will also be renewed.
By ascertaining the condition of the buildings, we obtain accurate information on the necessary repairs, which will secure the versatile use of the buildings as well as their cultural and historical value also in the future.
No. No additional construction is planned for the protected park surrounding the hospital. The park has, for the most part, been maintained in recent years.
According to the future plan, its special natural values and historicity will be protected, such as the trees planted by the hospital’s patients and the area where the endangered Depressaria chaerophylli is present. In connection with the development project, the future potential of using the park as a venue without compromising the nature values will be reviewed.
In the future, construction projects in nearby areas will also be carried out in a way that ensures that the park's natural values are not endangered.
A design competition was held in the Lapinlahti area, which was won by NREP Oy’s proposal “Spring in Lapinlahti”. The City Board rejected the competition proposal on 22 June 2020 and set guidelines for the development of the area, which govern the planning and development of the area.
- the conservation values of the buildings are maintained and the buildings are repaired
- the area remains sufficiently open to city residents in terms of the buildings and the whole park
- the whole development must make it possible for mental health work, which is linked with the history of the area, as well as non-governmental organisation and cultural activities open to city residents, to remain part of the area
- the park’s natural values must be taken into account and secured
- future operators and potential tenants in the area must commit themselves to a fair, open financial model in which the costs of repairing the properties are taken into account as far as possible
- for repairing the buildings and developing the area, operators from outside the city must be found, where possible, who have the possibility to take responsibility for the whole development
- The Helsinki City Group can also remain in the area as the owner of the buildings or some of them through its own real estate company, for example
- the creators of the winning proposal and their plan will be included in the overall process as applicable
- one possibility to be explored is a joint venture with alternative ownership shares
Decision of the City Board dated 22 June 2020(Link leads to external service)
The plan is that a new real estate company formed by the city and NREP Oy would be responsible for the renovations, ownership and renting of the area’s premises in the future.
The City of Helsinki is preparing the operating concept of this in cooperation with NREP Oy. Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo and the current tenants in the area have also contributed to the plans of the concept.
NREP Oy won the competition for the development of the Lapinlahti area organised by the City of Helsinki in 2018–2020. The Helsinki City Board decided to reject the competition result and set guidelines for the development of the area on 22 June 2020.
In early 2021, the city published an external report it had ordered on the operating and implementation model for the Lapinlahti Hospital area, as well as an action proposal for the development of the Lapinlahti area. The development of the buildings in the area will continue based on the guidelines presented in the report.
Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo is involved in investigating the whole arrangement, since the company has experience in similar projects in Kaapelitehdas and Suvilahti.
We want the Lapinlahti area to be open for all Helsinki residents, and a place which as many people as possible can enjoy.
However, the buildings of the Lapinlahti Hospital must be renovated while preserving their cultural and historical values.
We want to ensure the possibility to also continue low-threshold well-being and mental health work as well as supportive art activities in the future.
The change in the station plan will probably start in 2023. The plan change defines the purpose of use of the buildings.