We were inspired by

We propose to start small and compact,

with a new HEART commanding the Sipoo valley and embraced by future expansion along the surrounding hills.

The central civic squares overlooks the landscape and welcomes PEOPLE with an open heart.

A new light tower will mark the entrance to the ruins of the Sibbesborg fort that will give the town its name and its soul.

This unique heart will fulfill all five themes:

* the extraordinary natural beauty of the PLACE with the striation of the landscape,

* the PEOPLE’s vision and commitment to democracy in action and

* the civic PURPOSE: to protect the natural and cultural treasures of the site and

slowly and gently introduce the projected population growth.

SIBBESBORG HEART AND SOUL HELSINKI SISSESBORG PORVOOKING’S ROAD

REGIONAL PLANS

The new heart will be served by the local Helsinki-Porvoo com-muter line and a cross-country train following the ancient Kuninkaantie or King’s Road.

THE REGION

STRIATION OF THE LANDSCAPE

LANDSCAPE Nestled between the twin islands that command the Sipoo Bay and River valley. A new civic square will be framed by new wooden loft buildings and houses that rise up the hills. The square is a gate to the protected park in the valley around it that treasures most significant natural and cul-tural landcapes.

ECOLOGY A small footprint reintegrates life and work, reducing commuting and energy use. A new wetland ring along the park perimeter will collect and filter storm water from roads, farms and towns before reaching the Sipoo river.

LIFESTYLEAlive all day long with mixed-use live-work lofts and all year long with outdoor play.

Find orientation with alignment of two light towers, looking North from the archipelago

Sipoo Bay to New Heart, looking North

From Sipoo River to the new Heart, looking North

From the new Marina to the new square, looking North

From the new Marina to the new square, looking North.

Pedestrian walkway over the Sipoo River.

TRANSPORTUusi Porvoontie will It will be a new boulevard for train, pub-lic transit and traffic with raised pedestrian walks connected by bridges across the valley.

A new sequence of light towers will offer orientation from the sea, and culminates at the central heart with an overlook over the ruins and the landscape. A walk connects from the train station, to the square, the marina, over the wetlands to the pier in the Bay.

A new multi-purpose bridge will cross the Sipoo River valley as it narrows and complete two traf-fic loops: the pedestrian walks along the valley and a street with public transit and infrastructure to serve the existing and new neighborhoods on either side.

CONCEPT DIAGRAMS

SERVICESwill concentrate at the new Heart

and Uusi Porvoontie as a spine, it will connect to future university and hospital

SITE NAVIGATION

PANORAMIC VIEWOVERALL SITE PLAN

CENTRAL PLAN RIVER ENTRANCE

SECTION - ELEVATION

FOREST

WETLANDS

OUTDOOR THEATER

INDOOR THEATER

RUINS

NEW SQUARE

LOFTS

HILL HOUSES

VIEW FROM THE MARINA TOWN SQUARE

TERRACED WALKHILL TOWN

INTIMATE SIDE STREET

UNIVERSITY HILL

WATERFRONT

OVERLOOK TOWER

FUTURE HILL TOWN

HEART AND SOUL

S I B B E S B O R G

We were inspired by

* the extraordinary natural beauty of the PLACE with its unique striation, * the PEOPLE’s vision and commitment to democracy in action and * the civic PURPOSE: to protect the natural and cultural treasures of the site and slowly and gently introduce the projected population growth.

We chose to start small and compact, with a new HEART that commands the Sipoo valley and will be embraced by future expansion along the surrounding hills. A new central civic squares opens up to the landscape and welcomes PEOPLE with an open heart. A new light tower will mark the entrance to the ruins of the Sibbesborg fort that give the town its name and its soul. This unique heart will fulfill all five themes:

The park’s boundaries encompass most historic and pre-historic settlements from the Bronze Age, the Middle Ages,19th cen-tury manor houses, and at the center, the ruins of the 14th century Sibbesborg fort.

These historic sites will be marked and lit at night, reflected in the water and accessed by park walks. Educational programs in schools and local clubs will promote knowl-edge and stewardship of both the natural and cultural landscapes.

fig. 1. New heart within park boundaries encompassing most historic sites.

LANDSCAPE: This heart is nestled between the twin islands of Sibbesborg and Joensuu, com-manding the strategic intersection of Sipoonlahti (Sipoo Bay) and the Sipoonjoki (Sipoo River) valley. It is set within a park extending from the archipelago along the coast of the Gulf of Finland to the Sipoo river valley; this park will protect most of the significant natural and cultural landscapes.

The new heart is inspired by the striation of the landscape. The shoreline at the base has sandy beaches, wetlands, grasses, or cultivated meadows depending on the loca-tion. The hillsides have steep cliff walls with rocky patches: pine and hardwood forests with a diverse herb understory. These for-ests create a soft profile against the sky.

The new urban growth is introduced within the natural striation of the landscape with a simple architectural code: wooden loft buildings frame the central plaza and sit on pilotis along the waterfront and wood ter-raced housing follow the contours of the hills. The top of the hills retain the natural forest profile, with a possible exception for a cultural building as an acropolis on Sibbes-borg hill.

Typically, the loft buildings on pilotis are inspired by the great historic waterfront warehouses in neighboring Porvoo and in Bergen, Norway. These are both Unesco world heritage sites and culturally con-nected to the site via the old King’s Road. They are long linear parti-wall buildings and create city blocks, with a public front facade, private back yard and very narrow side streets.

The terraced housing rise up on the twin hills under the forest canopy. The houses fit gently within the existing forest, espe-cially the hardwoods in Joensuu. Like most of the existing houses, they will be within a range of 10-25 meter above sea level. Because they adjust to the topography, they are more idiosyncratic in their orientation in plan. The houses closer to the center might also share a party wall and have a smaller lot; further away they are free standing.

TRANSPORTATION:

This heart will be a destination by land and sea.

The water offers the most romantic route. A new sequence of light towers will offer navi-gational orientation from the sea by marking significant thresholds: coastline archipelago, bay and river. To encourage public and pri-vate waterfront use, there will be a new ma-rina next to the main square and a pier for sailboats. A walk connects from the train station, to the square, the marina, over the wetlands to the pier in the Bay. Ideally, in the future, a new drawbridge on the Por-voonväylä highway will allow sailboats to reach the central marina next to the square.

fig. 2. Water transportation.

As the city grows, the Uusi Porvoontie road will become a more urban boulevard framed by mixed-use buildings. It will have the new heart at the center and extend to the school at Söderkulla to the east and a new Univer-sity campus to the West.

To the north, a new multi-purpose bridge will cross the Sipoo River valley as it narrows. It will alleviate local traffic and complete two traffic loops: the terraced walks along the valley and a street with public transit, (buses and light rail) and infrastructure to serve the existing and new neighborhoods on either side.

Everything in the heart is within walking distance and connected to trails to the adja-cent towns and mountains.

It will be served by the local Helsinki-Porvoo commuter line (HELI) and a cross-country train following the ancient Kuninkaantie or King’s Road. This 14th century mail road extended from Bergen on the Atlantic coast, connected Oslo, Stockholm, Mariehamn, Turku, Helsinki, Sipoo, Porvoo and ended in Vyborg (later in St. Petersburg, Russia).

Near Sibbesborg, the trains will follow the Uusi Porvoontie right of way. This rural road will become a multi-modal boulevard including railroad, commuter train, public transit, bicycles and pedestrians and in multiple lanes divided by landscaped medi-ans. To address the narrow valley between the hills, the boulevard will be multi-level in section, with a mid-level pedestrian walk-way along the hillside. These pedestrian walks will be connected by bridges across the valley.

fig. 3. Uusi Porvoontie as an Urban Boulevard. fig. 4. New bridge to the north and ring road.

LIFESTYLE:

The new heart will radiate life all day and all year long. The central square will welcome people with an open heart. It will be the stage to watch people, eat and drink with friends and neighbors, hold markets and civic events: concerts, dances, ice-skating and races. Its markets will feature local pro-duce, dairy and fowl from adjacent farms, and fish from the fish market.

The slope next to the ruins of the fort cre-ates a natural amphitheater for summer festivals; a new theater building will have a double stage to open to the amphitheater in the back.

The new heart will offer a range of living arrangements and house types. This square is framed by multi-purpose, live-work lofts to create a compact town that is walkable and accessible by train, boat and multiple trails.

Protecting the Sipoo River Valley as a new central park will expand public opportunities for outdoor recreation next to the heart of the city and its future expansion. There will be new trails for walking, cycling and horse-back riding. There will be new ways to enjoy the water, including new piers for sailboats in Sipoo Bay and small motor craft and kay-aks in the marina. The whole area will offer winter sports: cross-country skiing, snow shoeing, sledding, ice-skating etc… within walking distance from the heart of the city.

ECOLOGY:

The compact heart offers a small ecological footprint. It reintegrates life and work, mini-mize commuting time, space and cost and reduce energy consumption. Private car and service vehicles will be restricted to cer-tain times of the days and to service alleys at the bottom of each hill.

It will protect the landscape and minimize forest clearance. If possible, use the cut trees for new construction.

It will offer an alternative lifestyle with walk-ing, bicycles, cross-country skiing and snow shoes, public transit by land and water, even horseback riding. The hills and inti-mate side streets will offer wind protection and create a milder microclimate.

Compact development also offers energy efficiency. A small extension of the energy grid will be sufficient. It could integrate multiple alternative energy sources: passive energy features through design and orienta-tion, solar panels where appropriate and the hills could be used for geothermal energy installations.

To heal the eutrophication of the river and delta, we propose wetlands along the park perimeter to filter storm water from restored creeks, farms and towns before reaching the river. We recommend connecting and uncovering creeks in the region and mini-mizing agricultural and industrial waste from going into the watershed. These wetland paths will be also the connecting the monu-ments.

A new water management system is need-ed to heal the eutrophication of the river and the delta. This includes managing existing wetlands to promote healthy habitats, re-connecting and uncovering creeks that were channeled and/or covered and promoting new practices to minimize agricultural and industrial waste from going into the water-shed.

We introduce a new ring of shallow wet-lands along the perimeter of the park to collect and filter storm water from creeks, farms and adjacent settlements before reaching the river. The paths along these wetlands will also tie to those connecting the monuments.

As it grows, Sissesborg’s local economy will offer employment opportunities and mar-kets. It will create a local food market for the neighboring farms, making them more economically viable. It could also promote local bakeries, creamery for milk, yogurt and cheese, bee-keeping for honey and other small artisanal food production.

As a tourist destination it can create jobs for guides, instructors for outdoor activi-ties, tour operators, as well as catering and hospitality. On the ground floor, it will house retail and entertainment, restaurants, bars, etc... The mezzanine houses offices, including incubator spaces to promote new entrepreneurial ventures. The fish market and the marina will also be destinations supporting economic activities, including jobs to service boats.

The Uusi Porvoontie urban boulevard will become the major spine for work, jobs and services. The multi-story buildings framing the boulevad will include commercial be-low, office space and apartments with great views of the valley.

The boulevard will connect the existing school complex to the east with a new uni-versity campus and hospital complex to the west.

The University hill will provide higher educa-tion and research labs. It will serve as an incubator for entrepreneurs to create new experimental local companies and new jobs.

EMPLOYMENT AND SERVICES:

fig. 5. New ring of wetlands filters run-off.

Uncover and reconnect creeks .

IMPLEMENTATION PHASES:

We advocate a compact city with very in-tense investment on the new heart and the landscape. As the population grows beyond this initial phase, the heart and its park set-ting will be embraced by a new expansion ring set within the forest of the surrounding hills, and reinforcing the frame created by the topography. This expansion will reconnect the neighbor-ing Söderkulla, Hansas, Eriksnäs to create an interconnected public realm. We rec-ommend a series of urban blocks, allow-ing view corridors to the valley and many cross paths for public access. This is in contrast to the current pattern of suburban sub-divisions with cul-de-sacs, which is environmentally unsustainable. It creates dead ends that increase the effective dis-tance between places, increase reliance on private cars and therefore, increase traffic congestion.

These are suggested phases:

Phase 1. The heart of the town with the surrounding park in the Sipoo Bay and River valley. 5,000 – 10,000.

1.1. Create the new central square, sur-rounded by private loft buildings and with the pedestrian bridges across the valley. 1.2. Define the park boundaries to protect its natural and archeological treasures. This will include public and private properties, in-cluding forests and farms. Build new public paths and trails. 1.3. Implement the new water manage-ment system, including the new wetlands along the edge of the park. 1.4. Establish multiple public- private partnerships to implement these different goals. These might entail land purchases or land swaps between public and private properties.

PHASE 2. The Uusi Porvoontie urban boulevard to Söderkulla. Up to 15,000.

2.1. Transform the road into a desirable boulevard. 2.2. Extend on both sides of the street and connect to the existing school. 2.3. It integrates existing buildings along the road. 2.4. New multi-story commercial, office and housing will frame the boulevard. 2.5 This will be a multi-level boulevard, with public sidewalks above street level where necessary. This elevated public sidewalk will connect to the bridges across the valley leading to the heart of the city.

fig. 6. Phases of growth..

1

23

4 and 5

6

7-8

9

10

PHASE 3. North East quadrant. 10,000.

1. This creates an arc of development with a new public promenade along the ridge that offers views of the Sipoo river val-ley.2. It will connect to Söderkulla and Han-sas and provide them with both visual and physical access to the river. 3. Most of the new development is on the intermediate terrace between 10 and 25 m. above sea level. 4. It will frame and protect the Söderkul-la Manor estate. 5. Density increases next to the loop road and decreases along the waterfront to keep the forest edge.

PHASE 4 and 5. South East quadrant. 20,000.

1. This also creates an arc of develop-ment with a new public promenade along the ridge with views of the Sipoo river val-ley. 2. Add a new road in the vicinity roughly parallel to Eriksnasintie, the main north south road, to improve access and set up the main traffic loop for public transit. 3. It leads to Eriksnas and Kallback south of the highway. 4. Part of the development is on the intermediate terrace and part is at valley level. 5. Density increases closer to the loop road.

PHASE 6. West side of Uusi Porvoontie urban boulevard. 10,000.

Due to the current small population on the west side of the valley, we are speculating this side would be a later stage.

Previous phases, such as the success of the new heart and a new station in the cen-ter, might make the west side of the urban boulevard a higher priority.

PHASE 7 and 8. South West quadrant. Like phase 6, this quadrant might be de-veloped sooner once the new heart at the center is well established.

This quadrant has two levels and corre-sponding phases. Phase 7 is at valley level, next to the marina and Phase 8 is on the wooded hill, with excellent views of Sipoo Bay and the islands along the coast.

PHASE 9 North West quadrant. 10,000.

Previous phases, including the new heart, will provide incentives for developing this area. The new bridge at the north of the valley and completing the Loop road will improve public access and transit.

PHASE 10 University Hill 10,000.

A new college - university - research cam-pus would be a major engine and it will balance development on both sides of the valley. It will be more viable with the new heart in place. It can be independent from the other phases.

We chose to start small and compact, with a new HEART commanding the valley and em-

braced by future expansion along the surrounding hills. The new civic squares welcomes

people and the landscape with an open heart. It is next to the Sibbesborg ruins that give the

town its name and soul. This unique heart fulfills all five themes:

Landscape: It is nestled between the twin islands in the Sipoo Bay and River valley. In this

striated landscape new wooden loft buildings frame the civic square and houses rise up the

hills.

Transportation: A destination by land and sea, it is served by a local commuter and a

cross-country train along the old King’s Road, with a new pier and marina.

Lifestyle: Alive all day long with mixed-use life-work lofts and all year long with outdoor

play.

Ecology: A small footprint reduces forest clearance, commuting and energy use. The hills

offer geothermal power and wind protection.

Jobs and services: a new spine for markets, a future university and hospital.

ABSTRACT