Hatsinanpuisto receives international recognition

29.6.2026 10.36

Indoors in front of an audience five people are standing on the stage: one by a lectern and another is holding the prize certificate in front of her. On the sides there is two screens with Hatsinanpuisto park written as well as the names of the persons receiving the prize: Pia Kuusiniemi, Principal Designer, Milla Hakari, Partner, Felix Bourgeau Project Designer, Loci Landscape architects and Kristina Rocha City of Espoo. — Pia Kuusiniemi, Felix Bourgeau, Milla Hakari and Kristina Rocha receiving the award from Christian Gruessen, Project Manager at the European Garden Heritage Network.Photo: Anja Matter

The Hatsinanpuisto park in Leppävaara has won the shared second prize in the prestigious European Garden Award 2026 competition in the ‘Climate Adaptation Measures in Parks and Gardens’ category. Hatsinanpuisto has previously won the Environmental Structure of the Year 2024 award.

The competition was organised and the winner selected by the European Garden Heritage Network (EGHN)(external link, opens in a new window), a European network that promotes the conservation, development and visibility of historic gardens and parks.

The prize was accepted by the landscape architects responsible for the landscape planning of the park, Kristina Rocha from Espoo’s Public Works Department and Pia Kuusiniemi, Milla Hakari and Felix Bourgeau from Loci maisema-arkkitehdit Oy. The award ceremony was held in the Schloss Dyck castle in Germany.

The jury justified the award as follows: "The park brings nature strongly into a highly urbanized area. Water is a central feature of the park. Biodiversity has increased significantly, and new recreational spaces have been created. Visitors can experience Monikonpuro at different elevation levels. At the same time, flood risk has been reduced by using floodplains that function as retention basins. "The other prize winners in the same category were Parco della Pace in Italy and the rooftop garden of the Saint-Antoine university hospital in Paris.

The network promotes conservation and development

The European Garden Heritage Network brings together experts, organisations and sites from different countries, promotes cooperation and the exchange of knowledge, and develops joint practices, training and projects to safeguard and make use of garden heritage.

The winners of the European Garden Award are projects that exemplify how garden culture can be preserved, further developed and made sustainable for the future. Innovative implementation and management concepts, urban planning aspects, sustainability issues, special services for visitors and civic engagement are just as important as high quality in the creation or restoration of a park or garden. Furthermore, the nominees and especially the winners should serve as a source of inspiration and as a model for other projects.

Link to the previous news article about Hatsinanpuisto:
Hatsinanpuisto wins Environmental Structure of the Year 2024 award

Link to the winners of all categories in the competition:
European Garden Award 2026 – EGHN(external link, opens in a new window)

The award ceremony was held at Schloss Dyck Castle.Photo: Kristina Rocha

European Garden Award -prize certificate.Photo: Kristina Rocha