In the architectural discourse, peripheries and suburbs often connote banality and meaninglessness. However, in reality suburbs are rich lived spaces with local histories and unique characteristics. In our project, Valley, we wish to take a positive and constructive stance. For us, the existing situation is an opportunity to be studied and catalysed, rather than a problem to be solved by importing an external idea or project. The main issue is initiating a social process, with a complex set of actors. The architectural project is, ideally, an outcome of multiple social processes.
The relation between strategy and project can be viewed as a relation between structure and agency, allowing for individual action. The strategy entails determining the direction of the future actions. The architectural project elaborates on the tools to achieve the strategic aims.
In Espoon keskus, the suburban challenge has the following aspects:
How to increase mobility without the car?
How to realistically develop high-quality public spaces in the suburban setting?
How to make the densification of the built a positive change also for the present residents (a win-win situation)?
How to ensure that the historical traces and elements can be meaningfully integrated into the evolving urban matrix?
How to find new housing typologies, catering for new lifestyles and audiences, so that the area becomes truly attractive?
And finally, what is the regional scope of the development; what is the profile and attractivity of Espoon keskus in the Helsinki metropolitan region?
From these considerations, a set of interrelated strategies emerge:
Locally, the Green Zed, linked to a well maintained network of safe pedestrian and bicycle routes, helps to increase mobility. Regionally, the challenge is best answered by a new suburban tram system. This system would make the various assets of Espoo, such as the Nuuksio national park and maritime Suvisaaristo as well as shopping and cultural centres, accessible and imageable for the metropolitan public. In the Espoon keskus area, the tram would be a tool to anchor the new North-South main street and change its atmosphere.
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An extensive, mostly green, system of public park spaces is the skeleton of the new development. Its main elements are 1) the existing Kirstinharju park strip, 2) the new Valley Park and 3) a striking, graphically treated zone on the rail line.
The Green Zed will become a system of public urban spaces, which are simultaneously rooted in the local life and iconic enough to be recognised by also other than local residents, to facilitate "strangers meeting strangers".
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We propose that the logic of the new area would emerge from a careful treatment of the edges, the articulations between old and new.
Towards Kirstinharju, the new underground parking facilities enable creating car-free yards and playgrounds. The forested slope is built with rather low density, so that the views are not disturbed.
Towards Kiltakallio, the new buildings create a landscape of well-treated roof gardens.
Towards the railway and the centre, the new buildings form sloping routes and tilted artificial landscapes. The slopes negotiate the two pedestrian levels and establish the most accessible spot, natural for the market square.
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As mentioned, the historical traces include the village centres and old fields, as well as single villas and old roads. All these features are valuable because they provide identity and depth in time.
Instead of relics, the traces should play active roles in the new structure. The house on the slope becomes part of a community node together with the school, the day-care centre and a grass-roots bar in one of the valley buildings.
The old agricultural field of the central park is treated as a field of urban cultures, allowing for individual appropriation through gardening, meeting others, sports, and other forms of leisure.
DO-IT-YOURSELF BLOCKS
The main idea of the Do-it-yourself block is to provide an inexpensive but spatially interesting structure, in which the apartments can be built individually by the means of do-it-yourself construction. DIY is a lifestyle.
The DIY blocks incorporate ideas of open building in which the building is separated into fixed support and variable/optional infill. The outer facades of the block are straightforward and strictly determined by the architect, while the inner facades constructed by the inhabitants allow for undulation and personal interpretation. Visually the blocks become severe outside and playful inside.
SLOPE BUILDING
Slope buildings create scenic, sun-oriented apartments by utilising the landscape features of Espoon keskus. Balconies and piers protrude from the main body of the building towards South and the preserved old trees. The terraced form provides large private outdoor spaces for most of the apartments.
Slope-lifestyle is less communal than that of the DIY Block. Nevertheless, the common saunas, workshops, reading and Internet rooms provide possibilities to meet neighbours. In a given spot of the slope, the height of the building may vary between 1.5 and 4 floors. Wooden piers and balconies further emphasise the human scale of the fractured sectional form. The overall height of the slope (20 m) nevertheless allows for breathtaking views.
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Espoon keskus is the administrative centre and one of the five main service and traffic nodes of Espoo, a fast-growing city of 210,000 inhabitants. However, so far it has not been in a favourable position in the Helsinki region. The areas nearer the City of Helsinki - and recently also the airport - have been developing rapidly, whereas Espoon keskus has been lagging behind.
Two tendencies should be noticed. Firstly, the relative position of Espoon keskus is becoming better, as the region expands to the West. Secondly, being slightly outside from the heaviest development pressure may be an advantage. It allows for more local, grassroots developments and a relaxed atmosphere, features which characterise Espoon keskus already, but which could become its real strenghts.
That's why we propose new housing types, allowing for DIY construction. Under-definition or wildness of the parks and open spaces are also an element of the idea. The Valley Park and other green areas include sections, which are not fully treated, but rather remain open for people to work on them, and interact.
This kind of relaxed, grass-roots approach caters for youth, elderly, and ethnic minorities, too. The multiculturalism of Espoon keskus should be treated as an asset. Its regional profile could be a new mix of urban density and possibility to make your close environment yourself - a green valley of do-it-yourself. The Espoo tram is an integral part of the strategy. Easy rail and light-rail access to both great natural assets and the economic centres of the larger metropolitan region is the unique chance of Espoon keskus.
The opportunities point towards a regional profile of dedicated conversational or everyday urbanism, in other words to Espoon keskus as truly catering for its present and future residents. - While addressing the suburban challenge it is paramount that the good aspects of the suburban lifestyle are not lost.