Waterfront, common yards and art praised in Arabianranta

One of the planning innovations in Helsinki's new city district Arabianranta are the common yards with a block structure opening towards the sea bay. The yards are considered as pleasant and functional by the inhabitants. In an interview, Mikael Sundman, architect, reveals that the semi-open urban structure was chosen to give as many as possible a view of the bay. The yards create a sheltered space from the streets for children. The path way crossing several yards is noted by children as an important route to school.

A strong local identity has already been born among the residents of Arabianranta. The feeling of community that the yards create deemed important by the residents. Another important identity factor is art. Each housing unit has its own art project. The art projects include sculptures, ceramics, graphic concrete, photographs, paintings, mosaics, and light installations and community art projects.

These findings come from the first anthology of articles on the Arabianranta district. The book is bilingual, with 12 articles in Finnish and English. The articles are written by researchers and key persons for the urban construction project of Arabianranta. The book is divided in three parts, the first part deals with the planning and construction, the second with residents' thoughts about their new housing district, and the third with the cultural hub of educational institutions and enterprises in the fields of art and media concentrated in the area.

Arabianranta. The articles discuss the background to, the implementation of and the reception of the various new solutions. Among these, two separate units of new build loft housing are presented (Sato and ATT). New lofts consist of raw space the height of two stories, with no kitchen or inner walls. The new lofts of Arabianranta introduce open construction to Finnish apartment block production. The articles show that besides technological innovations, new administrative solutions and ownership models have been tried out in Arabianranta. One of these is the role of the local service company Arabian Palvelu Oy providing all dwellings with a high-speed broadband without a separate monthly fee.

In the international context and discussion of culture led regeneration of industrial urban spaces, Arabianranta differs as a process and outcome from the approaches taken in Central Europe or North America. In Arabianranta it is the public authority leverage which has been used together with other stakeholders which has made the adoption of novel and alternative solutions possible. The regenerating of the former industrial site has been done by preserving local identity.