Orchard Avenues

The landscape boundary is evolving. The shift from the hard-compact wall of fortified cities to the infinite blurred contour of sprawl reflects centuries of social change. After the mostly unattainable vision of Garden Cities, we follow the emergence of a more specific goal: living on the edge between complex built areas and rich ecosystems. In geometrical terms: a dense and limited urban area, with an infinite boundary to landscape. For Turku, we envision such a boundary by proposing to pull both the surrounding landscape and the urban pockets into the site. These areas never intersect. But we carefully extend and design their interface, creating a blurred transition from one to the other. On one side are the continuously branching corridors of vegetation: the Orchard Avenues. In a reversal, the other side becomes access: the Urban Courts. In between, a gradient of house types creates a visually permeable membrane.