Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2010 | Page 49

Marja-Vantaa is a blueprint for ecological living – not only for Vantaa, but for the entire country.
on the surface in Vehkala and
Petas. The busiest stations will
be Kivistö and Airport.
”Our first new community along the Ring Rail is Leinelä
which will feature high-quality living close to nature,” Peltomäki says.

Showcasing
the Future
Still, the most ambitious community development project taking place in the City is MarjaVantaa, located near the Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Marja-Vantaa
will create excellent preconditions for complementary building in the urban structure as well
as improve the prerequisites for
housing production. Marja-Vantaa will also help to integrate
large retail business concentration to the city structure.
On the whole, the local master plan facilitates ac-

commodation of approximately 30,000 new inhabitants and
creation of about 25,000 jobs.
The main living area near the
Kivistö railway station comprises about 300,000 square metres
which could encompass over
6,000 inhabitants.
Marja-Vantaa is hailed as
prime example of tomorrow’s
ecological construction: the City
of Vantaa is committed to realising a vibrant community that is
rooted on greener, cleaner ideology.
“For instance, bicycling
will be the preferred mode of
transport, along with the rail.
The community will be planned
from the point of view of a bicyclist,” says Peltomäki.

Reinventing the River
Also fishing should be in the
cards more and more. Deputy
Mayor Peltomäki acknowledg-

es that the River Vantaa has been
an underrated element in the big
picture for a long time, but now
there are plans to fully explore
the possibilities brought about
by the river and its environs.
“Vantaa River will introduce knew recreational opportunities for Aviapolis and Marja-Vantaa in the future.”
And naturally, the Ring
Rail is there to link the new
community closely to the surrounding regional structure and
to the national transportation
network. The accessibility of
the area via Hämeenlinna highway and Ring Road III is also
excellent.
“According to calculations, residents’ jobs will be
about five minutes away.”
With regards to energy solutions, Peltomäki admits that
remote heating is hard to beat
but also other options will be explored. All and all, Peltomäki

The Kartanonkoski residential area has been praised for its architecture which adds to the
strong sense of community.

believes that Marja-Vantaa is
the most interesting community development project presently underway in the Metropolitan Region.
“New technology and solutions will be utilised from the
beginning,” Deputy Mayor says,
mentioning resident identification systems as but one example.
“Of course, the full-scale
realisation of the community will take a long time, 15–20
years.”

Kartanonkoski
Adds Charm
Still, Vantaa has great momentum facing these new challenges since the new Kartanonkoski
neighbourhood has proven to be
a total success. Excellent city
planning and innovative visual
solutions have turned Kartanonkoski into a very special area, a
decidedly modern community
with a strong sense of tradition.
“Kartanonkoski has been
praised for its architecture and it
really has a heartwarming sense
of community.”
Design and aesthetic values are an elemental part of the
new communities in the making,
and this trend is only strengthened by Vantaa’s participation in
the World Design Capital 2012
programme.
“Marja-Vantaa and the
Ring Rail have their own art
plans, for instance. We want to
bring design into the everyday
life of the people.” b
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