Establishing deep roots between people and a special place
Covid-19 lockdown has made our world shrink, with everything you might need to survive and to thrive within 30 minutes of your doorstep, on foot or by bike. It made us find out more about our neighbours and our neighbourhoods, the healing power of nature and the spaces we share. Our approach at Linnanniemi uses everything that we have learned from this unprecedented global experience. We must not forget what we have realised we love and value, nor the emotions and the feelings we shared at a distance.
Our Design Manifesto – a landscape led approach to placemaking
We care deeply about the world around us and want to see a more equitable future for all people and our landscape.  We have developed a landscape-led approach to masterplanning Linnanniemi which we believe creates specific kinds of values.  For us the landscape of Linnanniemi means far more than some remote vista or a backdrop to our lives. It produces welcoming, civil spaces that draw on the history of a Turku.  For the ‘natives’ of Linnanniemi and all the people who experience the beauty of this archipelago gateway, the landscape will define who they are and how they live.
Our Vision – the 30 minute place
We are unashamed to be ambitious; we start as we mean to finish, with a clear vision for a unique place inspired by the beauty of the archipelago.  A new habitat where people and nature can flourish.  
 
ArchipelaGO:      
A place inspired by nature
Since ancient times, settlements have developed around the human need to access water, it sustains life. In modern urban living, people still have a powerful desire to be near water; to see water, hear water, and to feel water. Our vision is rooted in the creation of a transformational new piece of city, one that embraces the natural beauty of the archipelago to create an urban oasis which provides a place to retreat from the pressure and pace of modern life.
People are connected to place physically and emotionally through landscape so if the masterplan for Linnanniemi is to succeed, it needs the power of synthesis that landscape and public realm brings.

ArchipelaGO-GO:          
A world-class cultural attraction
Our vision for Linnanniemi is all about reconnecting.
Reaching out to the wider world whilst feeling more like ‘home’ for Turku natives.

​​​​​​​We believe that all successful waterfronts around the world feel like a connected part of the city. Our vision for Linnanniemi places the waterfront as the focal point in defining a global cultural offer, as a city in touch with nature, with Turku castle and the new museums as the ‘Jewels in the Crown’.We are excited by the opportunity for the Masterplan to start a conversation with the City and with its neighbours both near and far. Our vision seeks to allow the waterfront to become a cultural quarter that defines its own identity on a global stage, connecting its future with its past. 
ArchipelaGO-GO-GROW:                
A ‘Hyper Local’ place to live, work and learn
The ‘natives’ of Linnanniemi will be spirited and never ordinary.  They will care about people and nature.
Our vision is to create a new model for urban living.  A vision that makes a confident shift back towards localisation. This includes providing places for local food production that allows residents to grow their own food and visitors to enjoy a celebration of the very best of Finnish produce. 
Food will not be the only thing that grows at Linnanniemi.  Our vision is for a place where people can live and work. A place to feel a strong sense of belonging and a place to call ‘home’.  This includes innovative workhub spaces to allow home working enabled by the technology that has allowed the world to connect during Covid-19 lockdown.  Academic spaces, commercial spaces, and new homes will all combine to build a strong sense of community with a shared environmental bond that allows the community to rise to the challenge of climate change. The delivery of our vision could start with a combination of bold interventions that make a statement, in parallel with community initiatives that manage to create a sense of place from day one.  
For us, we see this opportunity as a privilege, an opportunity to plant a flag in the ground for a new community of Linnanniemi ‘natives’ who embrace nature and care for the environment and each other.  
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