Sibbesborg: Competition for Sustainable Community Development

During 2011, the municipality of Sipoo will host an open international planning competition for a sustainable community in Sibbesborg. The competition will be organised in co-operation with the Aalto University Department of Architecture, the Finnish Association of Architects, RYM Ltd and the OSKE Centre of Expertise, and is supported, through its sustainable community programme, by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation.

The competition area is situated in the municipality of Sipoo, around Söderkulla urban district and the Sipoonlahti area. The aim of the competition is to put forward a plan for a community of up to 70,000 – 100,000 residents, with the main emphasis on the centre. In addition to this, the target is to outline the first steps in the extensive implementation process. 

The competition and its scope are based on the Sipoo 2025 Master Plan and the municipality’s expansion strategy which is a response to the overall development targets for the Helsinki region, an area which is one of the fastest growing urban regions within the European Union. The development of Sibbesborg, which lies at the heart of the region’s eastern development corridor, will be based on future rail connections. The development of the area as a compact and functioning community, building on its powerful landscape and cultural identity, offers a rich opportunity for the region as a whole. 

The topicality of the competition and its vision is underlined by the ongoing revision of the land use plan for the entire region. The Regional Council of Uusimaa is currently drawing up a new regional land use plan, which should be ratified during 2012 (The Regional Councils of Ita-Uusimaa and Uusimaa merged at the beginning of 2011).

The municipality of Sipoo hopes that one outcome of the competition will be to identify the best possible partners for the future planning and development of the area. Co-operation on overall and detailed planning of the area will be pursued with the award-winning competitors. The aim of the competition organisers is to establish how Söderkulla and the surroundings of Sipoonlahti should be developed in order to respond to local and international demands of sustainability both now and in the future. It is hoped that the experience gained through the competition may also be utilised in the planning of other communities and that it will aid in the development of new and advanced concepts for future urban areas.

www.sibbesborg.net