Keski-Pasila primary school and kindergarten

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1st prize in an invited architectural competition organised by the City of Helsinki in 2020.

The versatile residential area called Ratapiha is being constructed north of the Pasila Railway Station, Helsinki. The heart of the area is going to be a new primary school for one thousand students, grades 1-9. The building will also house a kindergarten for 200 children.

Situated at the heart of a dense city structure, the school and kindergarten complex plays a significant role as a public building in the area. In the town plan, the starting point for the school building is a large urban multi-storey school on a dense hillside plot, with the school courtyards located on roof terraces over the lower parts of the school. The building has also been given ambitious life cycle goals. These starting points created a very specific set of challenges for the design.

The design creatively interprets the starting points of the competition and tries to bring out the full potential of the site and the given program. The team strived to create a recognisable building, still linked to the history of the railway area through its main building material, red brick. The aim was to make the large building mass inviting also for the youngest children. The courtyard area with its abundant plants, play areas and the stairs leading to it, is part of a varied and meandering common public landscape space. The proposal pays particular attention to the views and the connection from Halkopiipunkallio to the school and its courtyards.