Tear down fences not buildings Sockenbacka in transformation

Abstract

Urban development in the Western world increasingly focuses on densifying and transforming sites with complex conditions. In Helsinki, where the 2016 city plan directs growth around transport nodes, business districts are now emerging as opportunities for urban transformation. The Sockenbacka business district in northwest Helsinki has the highest rate of vacant office space in the capital region of Finland. While the City of Helsinki is about to explore how housing can be integrated here, current densification practices favour demolition and rebuilding, despite high environmental costs. Instead of replacing them, this thesis explores how existing buildings and structures in business districts can be transformed and reused for housing and other purposes, rethinking sustainable urban planning. Drawing on theories of transformation and adaptive reuse, the thesis defines design approaches for transformation and reuse. These are applied in a transformation-driven pre-study for a local master plan. Methods include site visits, literature review, iterative design process, and discussions with professional planners. The analysis identifies areas suitable for residential transformation, areas to be kept as business-focused, and others best suited for mixed-use. Particularly, the district south of Gjuteriet station and west of Vichtisvägen is explored more closely. The reuse potential of existing buildings is assessed based on their characteristics and context, and a future mixed-use urban plan is envisioned for these blocks. The thesis gives a spark for imagining a possible mixed-use future for Sockenbacka through transformation and reuse of its existing building stock. Realising this potential, however, requires integration into higher levels of planning, and close collaboration with existing property owners. The thesis also demonstrates how planning for transformation challenges conventional planning scales. As a contribution to transformative urban planning in Helsinki, the work encourages a shift in planning practices, from demolition toward reusebased approaches. It calls on planners to rethink norms, collaborate across disciplines, and, to tear down fences, not buildings.