Art and Design City Nearing Completion

 Helsinki’s Arabianranta city suburb is a showcase of the widespread use of architectural competitions in Helsinki to build high-quality areas. The 21st competition, one of the last for the suburb, has been completed. Called LEON, the winning entry by Playa Architects of Helsinki, consists of “city villas” cited by the competition jury to link every unit successfully to the magnificent waterfront landscape. Even the entrance halls open wide views to the surroundings. The city villas are strongly characterized by novel balconies clad in wood. Each villa is fitted with a communal penthouse sauna with a patio and a view. The construction of a new residential area in Arabianranta begun in 2000. The development stemmed from art and design education and industries, and Arabianranta came to be aptly called Art and Design City. The core of the area is formed by the University of Art and Design Helsinki, Pop & Jazz Conservatory, and operations including manufacturing and retail of the Finnish design group Iittala. The new housing area will be home to 7,000 residents. Arabianranta is already home to approximately 300 businesses and 4,000 jobs, two-thirds of them in the creative industries and most of them originating from two site incubators. Arabianranta is the most important hub of creative industries and creative people in the Nordic countries. Arabianranta’s development relies on Helsinki’s city planning philosophy of mixed use – combining living, working and studying in one area, to minimize needs for commuting. Another goal in Helsinki is to develop areas with individual characters and profiles. Art and design is evident in Arabianranta in many ways, not least in the high quality of architectural design. The residential buildings represent all housing types – owner occupied, right of occupancy, and rental housing. The new LEON city villas will comprise 44 units of HITAS owner occupied housing. HITAS is a price and quality control system operated by the City of Helsinki. The purpose of the system is to offer reasonably priced owner-occupied housing to city residents.