Housing

The building of homes in Viikki will, for the next few years, be concentrated in Latokartano, Viikinmäki, Viikinranta and the southern part of Kivikko.

Latokartano, the largest residential area in Viikki, is especially favoured by families with children and students. The first dwellings there were completed in 1998. The entire area will be ready by the mid-2010s, at which time there will be about 9,000 inhabitants of the area. Latokartano’s apartment buildings, terraced houses and semi-detached buildings include a mixture of differently owned homes: some are owned entirely by the occupiers, others by so-called housing cooperatives, while the remainder are rental properties.

In the almost completed residential area in the eastern part of Viikinmäki there are about 1,300 inhabitants. The dismantling of a shooting range in the western part of the area and the cleaning of the ground as well as the pre-construction work is completed. The buildings erected in the area will be mainly two and three-floored townhouses.

Once completed, the population of Viikinmäki will be about 3,500. With the help of planning and land allocation competitions for developers, the quality of the building work will be ensured.

In Viikinranta, the Vanhankaupunginkoski neighbourhood is already ready, while the building of the Kalastajanranta residential area has began in 2011. Around 1,000 people currently live in Viikinranta, with the figure growing to about 1,300 once building work in the area has been completed.

In the science park at present there are about 900 inhabitants, a figure that will grow to 1,400 after the work has been finished.

The apartment building and terraced house area in Kivikko, which will soon be home to 5,000 residents, is nearly ready. In this area there will be dwellings owned by owner-occupiers and so-called housing cooperatives with others being rented out. Apartment buildings and smaller houses accommodating about 700 new inhabitants will be built in the southern part of Kivikko. Building work will commence throughout 2011 and 2012.

 

Apteekkarinraitti
Hallainvuori

Services

There are good services for families with children in Viikki. In addition to schools and nurseries, investment in other services has kept pace with the growth in Viikki’s population.

In Latokartano, there are several nurseries and other services for families with children. Both the local school and the University of Helsinki’s Viikki Teacher Training School provide teaching for children in the area. There is a new sports hall and a recreational park in Latokartano.

A science library and a public library can be found in Viikki Science Park. The science park also has a shopping centre providing services for Viikki and its surroundings, including a hypermarket and specialist shops and services. Several restaurants for students and lunch-goers are located in the campus area.

Gardenia-Helsinki, a public environmental information centre, includes an impressive winter garden. Also, the information centre for the Vanhankaupunginlahti nature reserve as well as a children’s nature school and several urban and rural landscape management companies can be found in Gardenia.

The existing nursery in Viikinmäki will be complemented by another nursery and a school. Nearby services can be found in Pihlajisto and in the centre of Viikki.

Kivikko has its own service centre where there is, amongst other things, a health centre. Two city blocks have clubrooms for inhabitants as well as school and nursery facilities. In addition, there are several nurseries and a park for children and other inhabitants in the area.

 

Viikki Science Park, the Department of Biosciences

Leisure

Vanhankaupunginlahti, the fields of Viikki and Vantaanjoki River form a unique nature zone in the very middle of Helsinki.

Rich with a variety of nesting birds, the 258-hectare Viikki-Vanhankaupunginlahti nature reserve is the most important nature site in Helsinki. Lit walking paths and bird-watching towers make getting to know what the reserve has to offer easy. Some of the nature trails are also wheelchair accessible.

The fields that dominate rural Viikki will be preserved. Cows will be seen on the university’s Department for Agriculture and Forestry-run model farm’s almost 160-hectares of fields also in the future.

In contrast to the field landscape, the steep Viikinmäki with its valleys will not lose its own unique look during the building process. The hilly town will continue to have great vantage points as well as pleasant walking routes on the shores of Vantaanjoki River.
 

Fishing and summertime cross-country skiing

Roaring at the mouth of Vantaanjoki River, the rapids at Vantaankoski have become the most popular fishing spot in the city. In the autumn, whitefish, trout and salmon swim upstream to the river. At the end of the summer, lampreys can also be seen at the mouth of the river.

Latokartano estate’s old, historic main building together with its courtyard still remain to this day in the middle of the science park. The large Maaherranpuisto park is located to the south of the main building.

Located by the Viikintie road, Gardenia-Helsinki is home to a nature school and an information centre for the area as well as tropical gardens and a café.

After the former shooting range in Kivikko closed, it was made fit for other outdoor activities. Ylläs-hall, a winter sport centre open all year round, is located in the sports park. The hall has, amongst other things, a skiing track measuring more than one kilometre, curling sheets and skating rinks. There is also a “SnowPark”, an area meant specifically for snowboarders.

 

Lively activities for residents

The residents of Viikki and Kivikko are actively involved in their communities. There are several community centres specialised in a variety of hobbies.

Latokartano has five community centres. The different activities offered at these range from handicrafts to music through exercise and the small-scale restoration of cars and bicycles.

Kivikko has three community houses with a handicraft workshop, a sports hall and a motor hall, amongst other things.