Browsing by Author "Kupiainen, Pieta"

The amount of urban dwellers is rising and housing shortage is a constant problem in cities. To prevent urban sprawl, Helsinki has decided to build high-rise. The future high-rise areas Keski-Pasila and Kalasatama are being built right now. At the same time several urban planners and urban theorists are concerned about the effect that tall buildings have on the urban public space on ground level. Indeed, high-rise buildings produce long shadows and sometimes hard winds to the ground level. Also they very often have monotonous facades. This master's thesis will be examining the relation between high-rise buildings and urban public space. There is very little scientific literature about the topic. The thesis evolves around the question of how can we design convivial urban public space on the ground level of high-rise buildings. Moreover what makes a good public space? The methods used are interviews and a comparative study. In the absence of high-rises in Finland, a case in point was found in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. A closer examination of two areas is conducted: the future high-rise area Keski-Pasila in Helsinki and the high-rise area of Kop van Zuid in Rotterdam. Expert interviews were held in both cities and opinions about the topic seemed to vary. The results of the study show a set of criteria on how to mitigate the negative effects of high-rises on urban public space. The successes and failures of Rotterdam can guide good practices of future high-rise projects everywhere. The criteria should be applied to high-rise projects already in the planning phase. The most important aspects of a good public space on street level of high-rises are a mixed-use of functions, permeability, active use of the plinth and pedestrian friendly surroundings.