Energy
Even in Europe’s least populous regions, the spill of urban development is beginning to raise concerns about current modes of living. At the heart of Helsinki’s efforts to put a stop to urban sprawl is a cultural borrowing from their southern neighbours: the humble townhouse
treatment Terrace
Credit: Aku Jokinen, Aalto
A familiar sight in most of the world’s major
urban centres, the townhouse’s
popularity in Central Europe, and the UK in particular, is markedly less prominent the further north one travels. Precisely why is not known for certain, but a strong indicator may be the land to population ratios of Nordic countries; with approximately forty people living in a square mile, the average Finnish citizen is not living a cramped existence. However the ambitious emission reduction targets of the EU require denser urban structure than currently exists. For
space saving, energy-efficient
solutions to urban sprawl, architects and engineers at Aalto University are looking to the European townhouse and the country’s own architectural history for inspiration.
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Fifty years ago, Finnish town planners successfully adapted the concept at the heart of the UK’s early 20th Century garden-towns to achieve worldwide fame with Tapiola, a landmark of modernist architecture in harmony with nature. “Our goal is to do the same,” explains Matti Kuittinen,
“to take the original Central
European townhouse and transform it into something suitable to the Finnish context.” A practicing architect and research
manager at Aalto University’s School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Kuittinen’s working knowledge of the practical and theoretical sides of the profession make him ideally suited to coordinate the university’s Energy Efficient Townhouse project. Led by Professor Hannu Huttunen,
the project is part of a wider research programme looking for innovative approaches to maximise energy-efficiency in everyday living. Characterised by its space saving potential, the tall and narrow townhouse could be Finland’s answer to the growing concerns of urban sprawl. Transposing the townhouse concept from
Central to Northern Europe entails a shift on more than one level: “There are the climate conditions, the market preferences and, of course, the city planning considerations in Finland,” states Kuittinen. Much lower temperatures, a high value on spacious living and conservative construction companies must all be taken into consideration in adapting the principles of the townhouse to the Finnish context.
Insight Publishers | Projects
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