The Rose for Building award to the Arabianranta neighbourhood

The residential blocks of Arabianranta rose from the former earthworks on that site. The recently awarded design will be introduced at the Lasipalatsi Laituri exhibition.

The City of Helsinki Public Works Committee annually awards high quality work related to the built environment with the Rose for Building award. This year the Rose was handed to Arabianranta where a local resident may enjoy living in a new type of city villa for example. The reason for this award was not only the wonderful vista opening through the windows, but also the fact that residents have truly found themselves to feel at home in the new Arabianranta neighbourhood.

Arabianranta has been transformed from a wasteland in-fill site into a community-oriented city neighbourhood. According to the committee, this residential area represents the cutting edge of community planning and residential architecture in Helsinki.

Visitors to the Laituri exhibition will also be able to peek into the various design stages of other awarded works. Some of the works featured at the exhibition include energy-efficient single-family houses for which architect Juha Salmenperä was awarded a special commendation. This year, the Exhibition and Convention Centre and the Mattolaituri (rug washing jetty) café on the shore of Kaivopuisto also received special commendations.

The exhibition which is part of the WDC Helsinki 2012 programme will showcase high quality design work until 25 February 2012. Admission to the Laituri exhibition is free to all.