Last industrial area in the inner city to become a residential area – New international competition for Hanasaari power plant area

The Urban Environment Committee will address the case of reserving the Hanasaari area for the competition in its meeting to be held on 3 March. The committee will also process the preliminary development principles of land use. After the committee, the case will move forward to the City Board for a decision. The size of the reserved area is around 17 hectares.

Residential area for at least 3,000 residents next to the city centre

“Hanasaari is the last area near the city centre that will be released from industrial operations to residential use. The Hanasaari power plant area offers a great setting for a fine new city district. I see that, Hanasaari offers a fantastic opportunity to create something completely new, and I believe that once completed, it will become an internationally interesting and attractive district,” says Mayor Daniel Sazonov

But Hanasaari has plenty of room for structures other than the power plant, too. The preliminary plan is that the area could support 140,000 square kilometres of construction, in addition to the power plant. This would include e.g. new homes for at least 3,000 residents, potentially hundreds of new jobs, new attractive urban space, parks, beach routes and a new school.

Competition for brainstorming the power plant’s future use

The future use of the power plant has not been decided yet, and the aim of the competition is to find a solution. Developing the power plant area may involve a combination of preserving old buildings and demolishing buildings to make room for new construction.

The power plant is massive in size and could be converted to many different purposes. The volume of the power plant is 380,000 m3, 3.5 times of that of the Parliament House.

The Hanasaari B power plant was completed in 1974, and energy production at the plant came to an end in 2023. The plant includes several separate buildings. 

Ideas and implementers sought through original competition

The City of Helsinki will hold an international idea and implementation competition regarding the Hanasaari power plant area and its structures, with the objective of finding a plan that is high-quality and distinctive in terms of the cityscape and its implementer.

“The competition is aimed at international groups with multidisciplinary know-how and the ability to implement an exceptionally broad and demanding project in collaboration with the City. We are hoping for the participation of both Finnish and international top talents of urban development and construction,” says Sami Haapanen, the Head of Land Property Development and Plots of the City of Helsinki.

The competition will start with registration and tender negotiations in autumn 2026, based on which the competition programme will be finalised. After that, the actual competition will be held in two stages. At both stages, the competition entries will be published for Helsinki residents to comment on. The objective is for the winner to be selected in autumn 2028.

Area to open on Helsinki Day

The Hanasaari area will be opened to residents on Helsinki Day, 12 June. Temporary use of the area is currently being planned, and during the spring, the area will undergo necessary alteration work to facilitate partially opening the area and the buildings to temporary uses. The City will share more information on the area’s opening ceremony and its temporary use during the spring.