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Summer in Kiikelinpuisto park. Photo Kalervo Ojutkangas.

Winter in Kiikelinpuisto park. Photo Kalervo Ojutkangas.

Kiikelinpuisto park.

Kiikelinpuisto and Lohenpyrstöpuisto are two parks located in Oulu city centre next to the market
square. The estuary and archipelago were natural starting points for designing Kiikelinpuisto. A new
recreational area was designed on an existing but overgrown island. The new islands and the new shoreline were built following the principles of natural landscaping. Large rocks are used to support the shoreline. The landscaping near
residential blocks is of urban character and the park is connected to the city space in a natural manner.
The storm waters in the park are collected in tanks and led through large infiltration areas to the water
system. The infiltration fields are seen as a rocky shore in the landscape. Lohenpyrstöpuisto, a park
situated within the city block of Meritulli, resembles a town square and is a steep contrast to the natural
landscape in Kiikelinpuisto.

Tasks: general and detailed design
Time of design: 1999
Location: Oulu
Kiikeli Area: 1,4 ha
Cost estimate: 520 000 €
Lohenpyrstö Area: 0,5 ha
Cost estimate: 320 000 €
Project Manager: Tommi Heinonen
Lead Designer: Tommi Heinonen
Designers: Outi Palosaari, Tuomo Vainikainen
Client: The City of Oulu

The parks in the zoned areas of municipality of Oulunsalo will be classified according to their current level of maintenance and the desired level of maintenance. The project team will draw up inventory forms, a classification map of the current situation and the desired situation, a map depicting playgrounds and parks that will be demolished or developed, and a map depicting the park network with all its problems and possibilities. The maintenance classification is a versatile tool for uses such as zoning, designing maintenance projects, and designing and building old and new recreational areas.

• Tasks: maintenance classification of parks
• Time of design: 2011
• Location: zoned areas
• Area: 2 000 ha
• Leading consultant: Lapin Vesitutkimus
• Sub-consultant: VSU Oy
• Designers: Tommi Heinonen, Susanne Anttila

The area contains an art gallery, a hall of residence for international students, an arts and crafts district, an environmental information centre, an old people’s home, and residences. These activities are meant to create a new, functional city structure by understanding and emphasising the special local identity, and to make the area an integral part of its environment where it can be used for common good and useful activities. The area will also be attached to the entity of activities related to culture, tourism, and art, which already exists in its immediate surroundings. The goal is to open up the area to the public and make the activities accessible to all citizens, which means that the area has at least a partly public character. Efforts have been made that the redevelopment activities, the new buildings, and the extensions will honour the park, power plant, and culturally and historically important buildings in the area. The area will be connected to the City’s pedestrian and bicycle routs by making it possible for people to pass through the area. Pedestrian traffic is meant to reinforce the chain of cultural activities in the area. Another goal is to open up views between Myllytulli and Hupisaaret, and inside the area itself. The design has taken into account the water that runs through the area, how the it can be used, and how people can experience it closely.

• land use design, landscape survey, environmental survey, general design, detailed design
• PARKS, YARDS, TRAFFIC AREAS, PUBLIC OUTDOOR SPACES, SHORES
• Oulu, city centre – Myllytulli, Hartela-Forum Oy
• Tommi Heinonen, VSU Oy, Project Manager, Lead Designer; other designers: Outi Palosaari, Mikko Kämäräinen, Sami Kaleva, and Hanna‐Maija Tervo, VSU Oy; building design: Arkkitehtitoimisto Kimmo Kuismanen Oy

A service centre for fishing tourism and recreational fishing has been designed and built at the waterfront of Kipinänkoski. The starting point in the planning was creating a unit that serves its users well and that fits in with the sensitive nature of the river shore and the island located in the river. Special attention has been paid to the landscape, landscape construction, and landscape maintenance. A part of the fishing centre is located on a flood plain.

• LANDSCAPE DESIGN, LAND USE PLAN, DETAILED DESIGN FOR LANDSCAPE CONSTRUCTION AND SERVICE BUILDINGS

• Kipinänkoski and Myllysaari, Iijoki, Pudasjärvi

• Area 2 km2

The water sports centre in Kajaani will be built on a very beautiful spot in the Kaukametsä area, close to the river and the city centre. The location is challenging because it includes existing buildings and it is on a descending slope towards the river, which includes a park with important routes used by Siberian flying squirrels. The land use plan around the water sports centre covers largely the existing cultural buildings and hotel surroundings and parts of the adjacent park. The designers have come up with solutions to challenges regarding differences in altitude, conserved trees, and underground spaces.

• Tasks: preliminary and detailed design
• Time of design: 2008
• Location: Kajaani
• Area: 3,2 ha
• Project Manager: Tommi Heinonen
• Lead Designer: Tommi Heinonen
• Designer: Hanna-Maija Tervo
• Client: Arkkitehtuuritoimisto Arktes Oy / The City of Kajaani

Lohipato school. photo Pekka Elomaa

Lohipato school. Photo Pekka Elomaa

The Lohipato unit of Tervaväylä School works as a school and hall of residence for children with multiple disabilities. The schoolyard was designed to be fully accessible and to support games and activities of disabled children. Different kinds of apple trees were planted on the yard. A sitting area was designed under an existing, large apple tree. The height of the tree trunk was increased, and the cutting was done by VSU Puutarhurit. Custom-made concrete tables were designed for the yard. The design included a green roof on the warehouse.

• Task: yard design
• Time of design: 2007–2009
• Time of construction: 2009
• Location: Myllytulli, Oulu
• Area: 0,4 ha
• Designers: Tommi Heinonen, Outi Palosaari, Susanne Anttila
• Client: Linja Arkkitehdit Oy / Senaattikiinteistöt

The town plan of Kortepohja is based on a planning competition held in 1964 that was won by architect and professor Bengt Lundsten. However, the regional centre was not constructed according to the plan, instead the area developed into a traditional, Finnish suburban centre of the 1970′s, which contains a shopping centre, library, a day care centre, and a parish house. Buildings are situated quite sparsely, and the area is dominated by a large car park. The design will improve the atmosphere, status, accessibility, and safety of the area. The design emphasises the role of important buildings and improves their usability. Interesting series of spaces are created for the existing routes and new means of communication are developed. The new Esbjerg square and the surroundings of the shopping centre will become a central meeting place for the residents. The surrounding town is typically verdant and car-free, and these features are also present in the centre of Kortepohja. The first stage of the design included the public spaces of the Kortepohja centre, and in the second stage, the design was extended to include the Pehtorintie street and the yards of blocks of flats that will be built alongside the street. The new buildings will have residents and employees with special needs, so accessibility received special attention in the design.

• Task: general design
• Time of design: 2009–2011
• Location: Jyväskylä
• Area: 4 ha
• Project Manager: Outi Palosaari
• Lead Designer: Outi Palosaari
• Designers: Hanna-Maija Tervo
• Susanne Anttila
• Tommi Heinonen
• Client: The City of Jyväskylä

In the first, preliminary stage of the design, the Äijälänranta pedestrian and bicycle bridge was a causeway bridge with a concrete underpass. The goal was to construct a bridge in which vegetation plays an important role because the future Housing Fair area used to have lots of garden centres. Even nowadays, some of the country’s largest gardening businesses are located there. In the second stage of the design, more alternatives were designed due to ground conditions. The alternatives included a lighter, curved concrete bridge, a wooden truss bridge, and an underpass that was inspired by the first stage of the design.

Tasks: preliminary design
Time of design: 2011
Location: Jyväskylä, Äijälänranta Housing Fair 2014
Cost estimate: 0.7 – 1.5 million €
Project Manager: Outi Palosaari
Lead Designer: Outi Palosaari
Designers: Sami Kaleva, Tommi Heinonen, Tommi Heinonen
Sub-consultant: Ponvia Oy
Client: The City of Jyväskylä

The design includes the milieu of the area as a whole, as well as traffic, extensions, and parking. The actual design area covers the areas owned by the polytechnic in the old military quarters, but the design takes the whole military area into account. The design was also taken into consideration when the City of Mikkeli was drawing up a town plan for the area at the same time. The design emphasises the area as a historical entity, the image and pleasant atmosphere of the polytechnic, and the safety of pedestrians. Car traffic was redesigned as subordinate to pedestrian and bicycle traffic using the principles of shared traffic space. The plants and materials were carefully chosen to support the spirit, history, and cohesiveness of the area. The storm water management in the area was designed to be controlled in the future mainly by overground depressions, infiltration, and detention. The general design also included a lighting plan and sketches of furniture and accessories.

• Task: general design
• Time of design: 2010–2011
• Location: Mikkeli
• Area: 1 ha
• Designers: Tommi Heinonen
• Hanna-Maija Tervo
•  Outi Palosaari
• Client: Arkkitehtitoimisto Seppo
• Huttu-Hiltunen Oy / Mikkeli polytechnic