Linnanfältti wooden apartment blocks

The Modern Wooden City project in Turku’s Linnanfältti district is a pilot site for the Finnish government’s program to promote wood construction. The municipal zoning plan for the area became official in 2014 and, fueled by a strong residential construction boom, actual construction work kicked off in 2017. The area has continued to see strong growth. Now, three years after the start of the first construction project, there are already 19 completed or near-complete wooden apartment buildings in the area.

Seven separate developers were involved in creating the Linnanfältti wood district. As a result, the buildings exhibit a wide-ranging and diverse application of the wood structure principles that the municipal plan specified for buildings and structures. The developers have also used a variety of construction techniques.

Schauman Arkkitehdit has designed 12 wood apartment buildings for the area. This is a natural continuation of the consultation work the company began in 2012 on the municipal zoning plan for the area. The varying goals of the clients, the different ownership options for residents, and technical constraints were resolved with a variety of techniques: large elements, volumetric elements and CLT large elements, depending on the individual needs and possibilities at the site. For example, the use of volumetric elements in the rental property at Fleminginkatu 8 enabled the creation of a playful in-and-out facade with protruding blocks. The facade breaks up the large building mass and also creates greater variation among the apartments. At the Lyhdynkantaja and Portinvartija sites, CLT was chosen for the framework. This was partially due to the site’s technical requirements, but was most strongly influenced by the client’s desire to have as much visible wood structure as possible in the apartments.

The municipal zoning plan for the area set down guidelines for harmonious facade architecture that fits in with the neighbouring buildings. The first site in the area was As Oy Turun Puulinna, and its architecture relied on earthy red and yellow tones. This was picked up for other sites and eventually became the distinctive colouring for the entire area. The choice of colouring pays homage to traditional red and yellow ochre, but the facade architecture itself is quite modern. The municipal plan’s vision was based on pedestrian only large-scale blocks made possible by underground parking structures. Courtyards, playgrounds, and outdoor gathering places are available to all residents, and the blocks are criss-crossed by pedestrian walkways and bike paths. The vision has turned into a wonderful reality, including shared courtyard buildings for residents, a “sandy beach,” and big, leafy trees, for which the municipal plan included specifically designated planting boxes to ensure enough space for the tree roots. In addition, the municipal plan emphasised the immediate environment of residents: moulding and deceleration techniques were used to add enriching graphics to plinths; the stairwells are enlivened with light and art, including graphics designed especially for As Oy Turun Puulinna by the local designer couple “Saana and Olli”.