The team of MANDAWORKS and schauman & nordgren architects are announced winners in January 2017 of the open international competition organized by the city of Tampere for the Hiedanranta city district in Tampere, Finland. The Jury awarded the proposal, ’Hiedanranta Innovation Bay’ with a shared first prize.

Over the next 20 years the Innovation Bay will house over 25,000 new residents and 10,000 new jobs, as well as the transformation of the former industrial district into an innovation hub for the development of a circular economy and a sustainable future.

Tampere’s Central Region is growing rapidly. Currently home to 370,000 residents the population is expected to reach 480,000 by 2040. In anticipation of the growth, the City of Tampere acquired approximately 250 hectares of land 4.5 km south west of Tampere’s centre - Hiedanranta Bay. In 2016, Mandaworks and Schauman Nordgren Architects  participated and received first prize in the open competition to develop a comprehensive vision for the area.

“Embracing the circular economy and creative potential of Tampere, the masterplan catalyses innovation, embraces the future of smart manufacturing and creates a robust platform for public life. Hiedanranta Innovation Bay embraces the site’s industrial character and builds upon its foundation to create an urban district that supports new technologies, emerging business trends and local energy production” says Patrick Verhoeven, partner in charge of Mandaworks.

The vision for Hiedanranta Innovation Bay is achieved through a set of urban development strategies that will transform the bay into the western hub of Tampere. The strategies connect Hiedanranta to its surrounding context, outline methods to achieve a carbon neutral development, and create an integrated public space and transportation network.

“Hiedanranta Innovation Bay has the potential to become a benchmark for new ways of working and living in Finland’s 2nd city. The proud industrial heritage of Tampere and the historic presence of water is a strong identity to build upon.  In today’s information society, knowledge and networks have become what the rapids and the lakes used to be, the power of the city. In the new Hiedanranta district, water and the industrial heritage remain essential elements for establishing this network. From producing power and goods, they now function as the containers of knowledge in the city.” says Ted Schauman, co-founder of Schauman & Nordgren Architects who has extensive experience with planning in Tampere from working three years on the Travel and Service Centre in the heart of Tampere.

The vision utilises the surrounding urban structure to create two clear urban grids that organise the proposed block division and reach out to the neighbouring districts. At the meeting of the two grids, the new structure is bound together by an innovation corridor. The corridor is a north-south sequence of public spaces that is connected via a tram line. Along the corridor sits historical buildings, local schools, smart manufacturing facilities and the innovation campus. The sequence of spaces, transit stations and program generate a rich corridor of institutions, meeting places and cultural hot spots.

Crossing the innovation spine is the recreation spine. This east west connection links existing commercial areas at Lielahti to the proposed lakefront and canal. The east west connection is defined by a series of water elements: the grand canal, the blue square, harbour and public spaces along the transformed Enqvistinkatu road. The crossing spines form the central organising elements of the plan, creating direct pedestrian links between public transport, key district destinations and important public spaces. 

Complementing the two spines, a cohesive landscape system weaves together the urban development and natural lake shore. The core landscape structure is composed of a historic waterfront park, a sport and recreation hill and a lake delta that blurs and maximises the Lielahti bay shoreline. The constructed landscape provides residents and visitors with considerable natural amenity while simultaneously providing an infrastructure to passively handle stormwater and offering large, connected areas for habitat cultivation. 

In order to move people around the 250 hectare development, the masterplan offers a multi modal transportation network. Two tram lines intersect the site, and cycle and pedestrian routes and infrastructure is prioritised over the vehicular alternative. The network binds together the district and creates easy movement between the neighbourhoods. 

The 1.8 million m2 of the Hiedanranta Innovation Bay proposal is handled with a flexible and resilient phasing strategy that outlines a clear vision of how to implement the plan over time.