Children and young people come up with ideas for nature-respecting construction of Kaupunginkallionrinne
Arkki School of Architecture and Espoo City Planning Department gathered ideas from children and young people on what kind of construction could be suitable for the Kaupunginkallionrinne planning area in Espoon keskus. In particular, the pupils hoped that recreational opportunities would be developed, important green corridors and scenic spots would be preserved and nature would be taken into account in both the planning and construction phases.
The Arkki School of Architecture for Children and Youth offers basic architecture education for children and young people aged 4–19 in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa. One of their offices is located in Muurala, Central Espoo, from where it was easy to make a trip to the Kaupunginkallionrinne planning area.
At the beginning of the cooperation, the City Planning Department sent the pupils of Arkki a video assignment describing the location and characteristics of the area. The children and young people were asked to come up with ideas about what kind of construction could be suitable for the area and how the proximity and connections to Central Park could be taken into account.
Three groups took on the task and, under the guidance of the Arkki teachers, developed their ideas in a way appropriate to their age group. The final result was three presentations, one containing the ideas of 4–6-year-olds, one of 7–9-year-olds and one of 10–14-year-olds.
“The children’s ideas were inspiring, and they contained many good ideas worth exploring. They were thinking along the same lines as our planners on many issues. However, we also heard some interesting new perspectives, which we will explore and, if possible, take into account in our further planning,” says Sonja Sahlsten, preparer of the Kaupunginkallionrinne plan at the Espoo City Planning Department.
Arkki’s pupils supported the plan to keep the wooded slope of Kaupunginkallio undeveloped and to protect the important green corridor crossing the tracks. The children also supported the preservation of the overall wooded look and best scenic spots and the creation of good transport connections and structures to promote recreation from the area to Central Park.
Some of the completely new ideas that emerged from the pupils’ work were the theme of construction on the slope, wood as a building material and buildings that would blend into the landscape in one way or another. The pupils also designed green roofs and solar panels for the buildings and hoped that the houses would have their own small courtyards.
“Even if none of the individual ideas would directly be reflected in the final result, the input of the children and young people is important to us and will be taken into account in the overall planning,” says Sonja Sahlsten.
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The participation and assessment plan and the preparatory material of the plan will be publicly available until 11 July. The objective of the ongoing planning work is to convert parts of the Kaupunginkallionrinne, located near Espoon keskus station, into residential use. At the same time, the regionally significant ecological connection running through the area and other natural values will be secured. In addition, the possibilities for the development and expansion of recreational areas will be explored. The plan is to integrate new construction into the surrounding single-family housing and the wider landscape. Read more about the plan on our website (in finnish)