Avanto Architects was invited in a competition for a wooden housing area together with Skanska Kodit Oy and Pook Architects Ltd. Our entry had three different zones with different housing typologies. On the western side of the area wormlike two and a half storey buildings, with loft apartments, border the area and limit the traffic noise of the main street. In the middle there is an area with clusters of houses that have common spaces to increase social contact between the residents. On the east side near the park there are detached houses along a courtyard street with small squares for the common activities of the residents.
The main theme in the design was the feeling of community. The slightly varied buildings create a unified whole that creates a strong identity for the area. There is a common residents' house for various activities. The common greenrooms in the house clusters create a sense of belonging in a group. The green areas provide children safe and intimate places to play in, and good connections to the schools as well as to the nearby recreational areas.
There are apartments of varying sizes to get a mix of different residents. There are small side apartments that can be separated from bigger apartments for the disabled or elderly family members or the older children in the family. Extra flexibility is created with the possibility to expand the houses easily and to alter the room divisions.
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