Hyvinkää (FI)

How can the site contribute to a productive city?

Hyvinkää city centre is located on two sides of the main rail line of Finland. On the east side there is a new shopping quarter, housing and administrational, recreational and cultural services embedded in old industrial buildings. The western side is less defined and lacks character. West from the project area there’s a former train yard that is being developed into an urban district including housing and public services.
The objective is to find an urban concept for the project area with various functions including productive uses. The different sides of the rail line should also be better connected to one another. The new urban concept will be used as a guideline to develop the area with various land owners and other stakeholders.

City strategy

Hyvinkää is part of the Greater Helsinki area with excellent traffic and logistic connections to many directions. Helsinki is only 60 km away and can be reached in less than one hour by car or train. Hyvinkää was born when the rail line was first built in the 1850s. The location on the Salpausselkä ridge with it’s pure groundwater reserves was the foundation for growing industry, initiated by the wool factory in the 1890s. Sanatoriums and winter tourism became popular thanks to the quality of fresh air and pine forests. Since then Hyvinkää has grown into a lively city, still carrying the past tension between industry, high culture and nature. Developing the city centre is one key project in the City Strategy of Hyvinkää. The goal is to make a city plan for the area west from the main rail line, and to create a vibrant, well functioning, pleasant and safe city centre.

Site definition

The project site is mainly situated on the west side of the rail line. The density of the area is relatively low compared to the rest of the city centre and there are several unbuilt wooded lots. Many of the buildings are out-dated and need an architectural and functional upgrade. There are also traffic challenges in the area; bridges over rail lines, busy traffic arteries, oversized intersections, a bus station and large open parking areas. On the east side there is a large school campus and a city block that need to be connected to the west side. Some buildings in the project area have historical value and are protected. The train station with its surroundings is architecturally acknowledged and has received an RKY status (culturally significant built environment).

How is production inserted in the urban diversity programme?

The task is to create an urban concept for the project area. Productive themes will be addressed by asking:
• How to connect the western part of the site to the rest of the city centre and its functions making it whole?
• How to create an identity for the western part of the city centre?
• How to improve the traffic areas - roads, parking, bridges, bike lanes etc.?
• How to integrate ‘park-n-ride’ to the traffic network and the city centre?
• How to integrate new buildings into the existing structure?
• How to upgrade the outdated building blocks?
• How to integrate small scale production into the urban fabric?
• How to develop the area in stages without losing its viability?

Aerial view from the North-EastNortheastern part of the project site

Train station Uudenmaankatu streetview from the South