Meri-Rastila Community Center

Meri-Rastila
Community Center

Competition Starting Points

The purpose of the two-stage general competition was to design a new multi-purpose building for Meri-Rastila, Helsinki. The plot is home to an existing community center and a chapel designed by architect Kaarlo Leppänen, both completed in 1993. The complex includes a school, a daycare center and youth facilities.

In line with the competition theme, “demolish or repair?”, the task of the competitors was to decide how to use and/or demolish the existing buildings. In addition, as Meri-Rastila is one of the urban renewal sites of the City of Helsinki, the competition had to solve the expansion and use needs of the facilities required by the expanding population and resident use.

To Demolish or Repair?

The proposal will retain the chapel and the school building. The current youth center located on the edge of the square and the daycare center at the southern end of the plot will be demolished. The Meri-Rastila chapel is a significant part of the area’s identity and the building will receive a new purpose in the proposal. Controlled additional construction on the park side will enable the transfer of youth activities to the chapel premises.

Most of the premises of the new Meri-Rastila multi-purpose center are for school activities. The functional structure and sports hall of the current school are both functionally and architecturally valuable, and the plan will build the new buildings around this layer.

The new multi-purpose center requires significant additional space and by demolishing the current youth center and daycare center, the best starting points for a functional and balanced solution in terms of urban design will be achieved in terms of functionality and plot use.

Main Design Principles

Urban Structure

The plan emphasizes the role of the remaining chapel in the urban structure by delimiting the northern part of the plot more clearly. The northern edge of the new building on the Meri-Rastila square will be aligned with the existing buildings on Meri-Rastila alley, so that the chapel can be seen as the end of Meri-Rastila alley.

The proposal presents a solution for a village-like entity consisting of several units, where functions are structured into smaller buildings that meander through the terrain. The urban structure of the new city center is based on connected point house construction. The multi-purpose building follows this same thinking model, where a large amount of building rights are divided into parts. The curved shapes of the roofs and facade connect the new multi-purpose building not only to the past and existing architecture, but also to the new buildings rising around the square.

Functionality

The new multi-purpose building consists of a village-like entity consisting of small units, where different functions are clearly divided into their own areas.

The daycare center is located on the quietest southern edge of the plot with its diverse courtyards, and the oldest user community of the building, the youth center, is located on the most public side of the plot, in the existing chapel.

The multi-purpose building’s spaces can be flexibly adapted for different uses. The spaces for physical education, skills and art subjects are located along public routes and squares to support evening use. The multi-purpose building serves as a versatile urban space for learning and meeting.

Architecture

The focus of the plan is on flexibility, versatility and a harmonious cityscape that fits into its surroundings. The building is designed as a CLT structure and has brick facades.

The architecture of the building continues the typical combination of straightforward functionality and liberated design language of the area, creating a modern look, but tied to the history of the area. The roof shapes and the “waves” of the brickwork on the facades take cues from the new building stock being built in the area’s surroundings.