Mandaworks of Stockholm, in collaboration with Hosper Sweden, has recently been awarded first prize in the international competition for a new mixed-use urban development on the former horse race track Vaasan Raviradan in Vaasa, Finland.
Billboard
Skyscrapper
Halfpage
Mandaworks of Stockholm, in collaboration with Hosper Sweden, has recently been awarded first prize in the international competition for a new mixed-use urban development on the former horse race track Vaasan Raviradan in Vaasa, Finland. The jury unanimously appointed their proposal, ”Inside – Outside,” as the winner out of 63 submitted proposals.Utilizing the site’s location on the southern edge of Vaasa’s city center, the proposal’s starting point is the extension of Carl Axel Setterberg 1860 city plan into the site. Through the extension of the grid, the new development links to the surrounding urban life and forms a robust framework for development. The grid is then further developed by establishing a hierarchy of public spaces, pedestrian diagonal connections, and an activated green structure.
Smaller plots support an array of housing typologies
This tissue of passages and places shape the area’s skeleton into a robust structure that generates a diversity of plot types. This variety invites a mix of building typologies and public spaces to be developed within the neighborhood. Larger plots along the main streets bring commerce and apartments, while the smaller, narrower plots support an array of housing typologies. The mix contributes to the socio-economic diversity and the plan’s flexibility helps Vaasa to grow and adapt in a coherent way.
Interested in other projects in Finland? The Local Reference Plan for the Riihimäki Station Area of a multidisciplinary team of Finnish architecture and planning offices brings together disparate and detached neighborhoods separated by a bisecting railway line. The plan reconciles different socio-economic conditions to create a more egalitarian society in keeping with Finnish values. Click here for more.