Landscape
The city has stopped at the edges of the Kakolanmaki site. The edges to the site have no cohesion and, by default, they have become extended barriers of the prison. The site has, over time, developed a mature and varied landscape of trees and vegetation whose visual presence, alongside the areas of exposed rock, are enjoyed at a distance by all the surrounding neighbourhoods.
Existing Buildings
As well as the major prison buildings there are numerous smaller structures, housing and ancillary service buildings, together with fences, barriers and routes which are specific to the workings of the prison complex. Many of these structures can be demolished and removed to prepare the site for its transformation into a new city district.
Reciprocal Urbanism
To open up the site and connect it to the growing city of Turku calls for a strategy that evaluates and works with all the elements of the existing site and its surrounding neighbourhoods. Qualities of the site - for example its isolation and separation from the city -
can be retained but re-interpretted in a new way. At the same time, and in response to this re-evaluation, new structures and activities can be introduced that have a scale that is both sympathetic to existing buildings and responsive to the urban scale.
Landscape Structure
As an example of this process our proposal suggests that the partial areas of nature at the edges of the prison site are combined and restructured into a zone of parkland, forest and open landscape areas that will ring the site with a network of pathways and routes. All access to the new Kakolanmaki district will be through this new landscape zone.
Connections
To integrate the new Kakolanmaki district into the city of Turku our
proposal suggests a hierarchy of new connections that grow from intimate
local links to connections at an urban and global level.
local
Connections between the site and surrounding neighbourhoods are made
by the creation of new routes and pathways through the zone of landscape
park. This will allow for new links to grow between neighbourhoods that
have previously been separated. The introduction of new housing together
with new social programmes on the site will further encourage communication
between neighbourhoods.
Urban
The site occupies a prominent position in Turku. It is clearly visible
throughout the city. New structures and the re-use of the existing prison
buildings will have an immediate impression on the city’s skyline
and will create new visual connections that will both attract visitors
and begin to integrate the site with the city.
New links to the river, the city centre grid and the castle and dock
areas to the West together with residential areas to the North will
facilitate a seamless integration of the Kakolanmaki district into the
city’s infrastructures. New social, economic and cultural programmes
that are introduced to the site will make the area a destination point
for the city. While the creation of over 50,000m2 of housing units will
provide the area with an economically sustainable model.
Global
The Kakolanmaki site will develop an identity as a city district of
both historical and contemporary interest. With new cultural, social
and educational programmes, housing and a new landscape park, it will
become a global destination. The site will link to global and national
infrastructures such as airport, seaport and high way connections. The
new museum and arts facilities together with a large hotel and leisure
and entertainment facilities and office spaces will become a new resource
for Turku that will extend the city’s existing facilities.
New Programmes
single programme to multi-programmed - prison buildings
The change of use from prison and associated activities to multiple
activities and functions offers unlimited possibilities for the site.
Our proposal begins with the conversion and refurbishment of the main
prison buildings. The priority here is to retain the qualities of the
existing structures and courtyard areas while opening them up and transforming
them into a new urban experience that is both historical and modern.
Our approach to the Kakola prison complex has a number of different
considerations. Initially the demolition and removal of some of the
less significant structures will provide new access points to the complex
and open up the courtyard areas that can be landscaped to form new circulation
routes across the site. While it has not been possible to visit or survey
the prison interiors we have assumed that new programmes can be introduced
into the existing fabric with varying degrees of intervention. We therefore
consider that the following mix of programmes can be inserted :
- a high quality hotel that can be located in the main south facing
Kakola prison.
- a museum of the prison and its history that can be located both on
one floor of the Day and Night Cells together with one floor of the
Workshop and Prison building.
- an art gallery / art and exhibition centre (or similar activity) can
be located on the lower levels of the Western Cells.
- flexible workshop/meeting/office/ retail space can be located in the
Eastern Cells, the Workshop and Prison building and the kitchen building.
- cafeterias, bars and/or restaurants can be located in the Day and
Night Cells, the Workshop and Prison building and elsewhere that can
also serve the outdoor courtyard areas.
- housing in the form of apartments and loft style units can be created
in the upper levels of the Western Cells, the Eastern Cells and the
Workshop and Prison Building.
It is suggested that the Remand Prison is coverted into housing with
some retail/office facilities on ground level. The Garage and Sauna
together with the House for the Deputy Warden can be refurbished to
provide a new sauna and health and beauty centre.
The House for the Prison Warden can be converted into a restaurant with
outdoor seating areas for the summer months.
Additional
structures
Within the Kakola prison complex it is proposed that the north eastern
part of the KItchen Building is demolished and replaced with a new perfoming
arts centre and audiorium. New glazed roof structures and openings into
existing buildings are proposed alongside a network of enclosed elevated
walkways.
New Facade
Structures
In addition to the conversion of and addition to the existing prison
buildings a new typology is proposed to provide for housing and other
programmes. Facade Structures are designed to operate at both the urban
scale and the local scale. At the urban scale the structures frame the
site and their surrounding neighbourhoods providing focus points through
the landscape areas. Taller elements and viewing towers will provide
new landmarks in the city’s horizons. At the local scale the relationship
between new structures and the existing prison buildings will form a
dynamic yet harmonious blend. Their placement forms a sequence of courtyard
spaces in relation to the prison buildings. The new structures can also
interact with existing buildings. At the Kerkola prison, for example,
an elevated housing block breaks into the prison courtyard creating
new formal possibilities. The facade structures provide for housing
on the upper levels with commercial, retail and social facilities on
ground level. Larger social functions such as a children’s Media
Centre and office/work spaces are also provided for.
Landscape
Existing vegetation and plantings, woodlands, valuable trees, wooden
slopes and exposed rocks can all be consolidated into the new parkland
area as episodes and events within the landscape structure. New plantings
will reinforce this forest ring. Paths across the zone connect neighbourhoods
to the Kakolanmaki site. New outdoor programmes and activities such
as playgrounds, sports areas, stages, picnic areas will contrast the
natural beauty of the forest.
The Study
Area
The study area is divided into two parts - to the East and to the West.
The Eastern area is currently a buffer zone between the city and the
prison complex. It is a steep wooded landscape.The opportunity exists
to link the new Kakolanmaki district to the city centre grid and to
the river by the creastion of new paths and routes. It is proposed that
this area is incorporated into the landscape zone and that is developed
as a pedestrian route to and from the city centre.
The Western area comprises parkland and a number of schools. This area
will be the main entrance point to the Kakolanmaki district. The opportunity
here exists to create a landscaped campus to connect existing educational
buildings to the newly coverted prison for the mentally ill and to the
main site. A new building is proposed to articulate this and to provide
housing, office and student accommodation.
