Suurpelto Project in Espoo, Finland

Suurpelto in Espoo is one of the capital area's most important development and building projects. The estimate is that there will be 7.000 inhabitants and 9000 workplaces. Suurpelto lies in the middle of southern Espoo just next to Ring Road II. The project area is 325 hectares including 89 hectares of parks and other green areas. Suurpelto will be a fertile mix of living, work, services and leisure activities - a new type of parktown. The aim is give better opportunities to integrate living, work and free time. All working places and services are within walking distance from living quarters.

Suurpelto offers good frames for good living. The area is being developed with respect for the nature and the environment and at the same time trying to listen to the needs for the coming inhabitants and the new companies. The estimate is to have approximately 7000 inhabitants. The main idea is to combine living, work places and services in a pleasant way to make everyday life easy. Working at home will be flexible and services will be ready to hand.

Nature is the keyword. Regardless of the type of housing, nature is always near by. Parks and outdoor recreation routes serve also people from the neighbouring residential areas. One very important aspect is accessibility; the aim is to plan and build an accessible area for all.

In the core of Suurpelto, as the heart of the area, is Opinmäki (translates as Learning Hill), a meeting place of all kind of learners and experts. The campus includes a Finnish primary school, a Swedish primary school and an international school. Opinmäki functions as an engine for lifelong learning and opens up possibilities for creativity and development. Modern technology supports various kinds of learning. Tiedonsilta (the Bridge of Knowledge) offers information and library services for all ages and links Opinmäki locally and globally. The campus is also a meeting place after school and working hours and a versatile center for leisure time. School buildings are open 24/7 and can be utilized by all inhabitants and actors in the area.

The building of Suurpelto will take approximately for 10 - 20 years. This is also a long time in research studies. The Suurpelto project organises regular research seminars of the on-going and finished studies.

Suurpelto project is one of the pilot cases in OPUS project, which is led by the Helsinki University of Technology . The aim of OPUS research project is to develop a new model for urban planning: based on collaboration with residents, public sector and private sector (P4 model = public-private-people -partnership).

Mr. Matti Kokkinen (Head of Suurpelto project), tel. +358 9 8162 5394

18/01/2007