Helsinki South Harbour – Open International Ideas Competition exhibition to end at Laituri

There is still time to visit the Information and Exhibition Hall Laituri to view and comment on the Helsinki South Harbour exhibition put together by using the development ideas for the area.

The exhibition has been set up by using the entries submitted for the open international ideas competition that could be used as a guide for the future development of the marine visiting card of Helsinki.

The aim of the Helsinki South Harbour competition has been to provide residents with free access to the sea and to integrate the area more closely to the city’s infrastructure. Contestants were also encouraged to consider the role of activity and places rich in experiences, as well as the possibilities of arriving at the city centre by sea. The Helsinki South Harbour competition is an excellent example of ways to encourage city residents to share their ideas on the development of their own living environment. As a basis for the competition, the Helsinki City Planning Department requested for nearly five hundred residents’ thoughts on the area and its future. The results were available to the competition participants.

The competition was open to all and it was hoped that participants would form design groups consisting of experts from different fields. Among the award committee members judging the entries was the American architect Steven Holl who designed the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Finland. Competition entries will be available for public comment at the competition website as well as the Information and Exhibition Hall Laituri until 21 January 2012. The results will be announced in spring 2012. The prizes awarded will amount to a total of 165 000 euro.