May 2010

Residents as developers

Housing construction in Finland does not generally offer many alternatives, and buyers have few opportunities for influencing their future homes. Residents are seldom involved in the initial stages of building blocks of flats, while first-time house-builders are often unwillingly tied to what is listed in the house manufacturer’s catalogue.

New residential areas and apartment blocks are now being built in Hämeenlinna, Lahti, Joensuu, Porvoo, and Helsinki, in which the future residents have been involved from the first stages of construction. Behind this work lies a nationwide ‘group building’ network.

Focus on environmental efficiency

The nationwide group building network is a joint venture within the Living Business cluster, whose aim is to increase residents’ opportunities for influencing the specifications of their future homes, in the construction stage. The cluster programme is co-ordinated by Culminatum Innovation.

‘Finland’s housing construction is still largely based on the concept of a family with two parents and two children. Most of the people needing homes, however, do not fall within this category, and people have different ways of life. Individuals’ and local needs should be taken into account better in construction,’ says Programme Leader Satu Åkerblom of Culminatum Innovation.

In addition to the diversification of the family model, environmental efficiency is among the key issues inspiring the group building initiative. The aim is to use joint procurement to save on materials, transport, and other costs. ‘One by-product should be a very desirable level of community spirit in housing associations,’ Åkerblom points out.

Rebirth of resident-driven construction of flats

Community-based building is a well-established tradition in countries such as Germany. Even in Finland, apartment construction projects initiated by residents were fairly common until the middle of the twentieth century. Lately, group building has been tested, for instance, for detached housing in Säterinmetsä in Espoo and Suutarila, Helsinki, as well as in a house for the elderly in Arabianranta, Helsinki. The pilot projects resulted not only in housing that corresponds to the residents’ needs and wishes but also in cost savings.

A block of flats commissioned by future residents is one of the most challenging forms of group building. However, it offers plenty of opportunities for finding new solutions for urban living. In Helsinki, the Home in the City association, run by residents, has acquired a plot from Jätkäsaari in Helsinki. The building they are planning will be the first group-built ordinary multi-storey block of flats in Finland.

Poltinaho, in Hämeenlinna, on the other hand, will soon house a neighbourhood of small detached homes where buyers can select the most suitable ground plan, size, and house type from a reference plan. The local authority has conceded plots to housing companies started by future residents, who will commission the construction work under the leadership of a consultant developer.

Similar group building projects are under way in other towns focused on by the Living Business cluster: Lahti, Porvoo and Joensuu.

Information portal

Close-knit low-rise urban dwelling requires new kinds of zoning and land use processes from local authorities. ‘Many municipalities will in coming years allocate an increasing number of plots to group building developers,’ Åkerblom believes.

The Centre of Expertise Programme allows researchers, authorities, businesses, and other group building experts to become networked. Another aim is to develop a Web portal where all who are interested in group building can find information on how to proceed and receive advice for both starting and completing the construction work. The portal will have a special section for suppliers of materials and services for group building. The first sections of the portal are to come online in 2010.

In addition to promoting resident-driven construction, the aim is to generate new business models – for instance, for consultant developers and architects’ offices.

The group building project encompasses five aspects: documents and legislation related to group building, arousing interest in group building, commissioning blocks of flats, energy-efficient detached house design, and group building for renewable local energy.

The Centres of Expertise that run the Living Business cluster programme are the Joensuu Science Park; the Lahti Science and Technology Park; Technology Centre Innopark, in Hämeenlinna; Culminatum Innovation Oy Ltd, in the Helsinki region (also in charge of the group building portal); and Posintra, in Porvoo’s Electrical Building Services Centre (STOK).