Lentoasemanpuisto international ideas competition attracted 34 proposals – competition entries are available for comments until 6 January

In May, the City of Helsinki launched an open international ideas competition for the design of Lentoasemanpuisto on the site of the former Malmi Airport. Lentoasemanpuisto is set to become the central park of the new neighbourhood and it will carry great significance for the identity of the district, which is still taking shape. The competition is being held to find a vision for the future park, combining the cultural history, nature-centric values and ecological diversity of the area. The purpose of the competition is to find innovative, technically and financially feasible suggestions.

You can share your opinion on the competition entries through the ‘Voice your opinion’ service until 6 January

Altogether 34 proposals were registered in the international ideas competition. The city’s residents can take a look at the competition entries and comment on them through the ‘Voice your opinion’ service until 6 January 2021. A compilation of the feedback will be forwarded to the jury of the competition. The competition results are published in March 2021. It is estimated that the implementation planning of the park will start in 2023 and the actual building works in 2024.

The competition entries are briefly introduced in Finnish and in English, and you can give your feedback in both languages. Before answering, it might be useful to watch the designers’ short introduction video on the goals of the ideas competition and the competition entries. For individual proposals, the city residents are asked to give their view on the park of the future.

"In what kind of a park would you like to spend your spare time in 15 years from now? Is the park offering interesting possibilities for recreational purposes and what kind of functions should there be available? Would you prefer a natural park or an urban park with diverse activities? And what do you think, how should climate-resiliency and sustainable planning be taken into account in the park?” ask Salla Hoppu and Vilja Larjosto, members of the jury.

A park serves as an attractive destination for recreation in the city, attracting people from all over Helsinki

The competition seeks to find a design for a high-quality recreational park for both old and new Malmi residents. The runways, open landscape and long sightlines all connect to the comprehensive green network. The connections to the green areas nearby will be improved and a new green connection to Kivikko will be built. The area’s meadows are managed and new meadow areas are established in order to preserve the precious species in the area.

Since the park will be built in stages and the whole construction period will take years, at least 15 years, the results of the competition will be utilised in planning the temporary use of the area as well as the final park design. All residents of the city will be able to enjoy the fruits of the competition, because the design ideas will be utilised in the design of both the temporary and final uses. The formerly closed airport area will be reopened for the usage of all residents as the airport operations are shut down. Even during the construction period, it will be possible to organise versatile operations and events in the area.