Anttila Farm Incubator - A regenerative urban settlement in Tuusula, Finland
The Anttila Farm Incubator urban concept stems from the will to create an efficient fusion between the urban and the rural environment, offering the inhabitants the activities and peacefulness of the rural setting with the commodities and density of a semi-urban settlement. The creation of a cooperative agro-productive community is the starting point to achieve this concept by assuring the economical sustainability of the site while keeping the culture and heritage of the site.
Local
Finland
TUUSULA MUNICIPALITY, HELSINKI
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
Yes
Europan 15
Yes
Europan 15
Yes
2022-01-06
As individual(s) in partnership with organisation(s)
First name: Rui Last name: Cunha Gender: Male Please describe the type of organization(s) you work in partnership with: I am a representative for an architecture office (O Arkitekter) which developed a masterplan together with the municipality of Tuusula. Nationality: Portugal Function: Architect Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Fyrvaktarkroken 52 Town: Stockholm Postal code: 12132 Country: Sweden Direct Tel:+46 73 511 95 03 E-mail:info@oarkitekter.com Website:https://www.oarkitekter.com/
First name: Joana Last name: Ribeiro Gender: Female Please describe the type of organization(s) you work in partnership with: I am a representative for an architecture office (O Arkitekter) which developed a masterplan together with the municipality of Tuusula. Nationality: Portugal If relevant, please select your other nationality: Sweden Function: Architect Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Fyrvaktarkroken 52 Town: Stockholm Postal code: 12132 Country: Sweden Direct Tel:+46 72 387 38 57 E-mail:joana@oarkitekter.com
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Yes
New European Bauhaus or European Commission websites
The Anttila Farm Incubator project is an innovative Detail plan in Tuusula municipality, Finland, that aims to regenerate an abandoned agricultural site based on circular economy and sustainable development concepts. The Anttila Farm Incubator urban concept is driven by the will to create an efficient fusion between the urban and the rural environment.
The project's core is focused on giving strength to the history and identity of Anttila, adding sustainable mechanisms to fight against its weaknesses and threats. More precisely, with climate change in mind, this project defined the need to build new and creative sustainable solutions while developing a self-sufficient and resilient territory.
Its location, geography and 500 years of farming history were taken as a strength and integrated into the concept of the new Detail plan. Anttila farm is a historic agricultural area near Hyrylä, next to Tuusula Lake, featuring several valuable buildings that shape the area's identity. Its recent history as a research farming centre was recognized as a lever for the site's regeneration and the core of an agro-productive urban area.
Anttila's detail plan creates an innovative farming community where pilot projects are supported by a diversity of infrastructures, services, housing and a research centre – the proposed Anttila Farm Incubator. This incubator is the seed of a circular urban concept that follows a productive cycle, starting with sustainable agriculture research, followed by agricultural production and ending in product distribution. This concept aims to offer the inhabitants the activities and peacefulness of the rural setting with the commodities and density of a semi-urban settlement.
The Detail plan was developed in collaboration with Tuusula municipality, and it was approved, in January 2022, by the municipality politicians. The plan is currently being integrated into the future municipal plan map.
Regeneration of rural areas
Self-sufficiency
Resilient
Innovation
Circular economy
The plan incorporated bio-based and circular economy principles to create a more sustainable and resilient area. First, the plan concept and design focused on developing techniques and using renewable and natural local resources to produce energy, food, goods, housing and services. Second, the circularity principles were embedded across different systems. Through creative design, planning and regulation, the plan builds a restorative, regenerative, accessible and resilient neighbourhood with an optimised agro-productive process. More precisely, the sustainable and circularity principles were integrated into the:
1) Detailed plan design, for example: Planned flexible low-carbon emitting structures, such as greenhouses, that allow for adaption for different uses; Minimised and optimised land occupation; Defined mixed-land uses; Considered the reuse and preservation of existing buildings and infrastructures; Incorporated infrastructure for capture and retention of rainwater and drainage in public spaces; Defined dedicated and shared public spaces.
2) Detailed plan regulation, with the definition of mandatory rules or recommendations, for example: Incorporate energy-efficient constructive solutions in buildings; Prioritise the use of low-carbon materials and locally available materials; Prioritise reuse and repurposing of construction materials; Incorporate technical solutions for effective multi-purpose utilisation of grey and brown household water.
3) Operational stage of the project with proposals for implementation and monitoring measures, for example: Establish an inventory of local construction materials; Plan for “end-of-life” of built assets; Establish maintenance protocols; Establish incentives for on-site renewable sources infrastructures installations; Incorporate energy efficiency solutions in the heating and cooling distribution system; Develop a smart metering system; Establish Sustainable Public Procurement Procedures.
The Detail plan considered five key objectives that impact the urban design, cultural benefits and the well-being of its citizens:
1) Preservation of the agricultural heritage and the development of innovative solutions. By promoting the development of a farm incubator, this detailed plan combined the regeneration of the agricultural heritage with the research and development of new agricultural techniques and products to promote a more sustainable and environmentally respectful community.
2) Creation of a cooperative agro-productive community. This plan creates not only infrastructures for farmers and entrepreneurs. Indeed, the buildings and structures are designed to attract residents willing to live in a sustainable environment. By attracting different stakeholders to this territory, this plan creates an agro-productive community with a strong producer-consumer relationship with incentives for self-productive agriculture.
3) Development of a bio-based circular ecosystem - a sustainable and resilient territory. The plan includes renewable techniques to produce energy, food, products, housing and services. Through creative design and planning, Anttila constitutes a regenerative, accessible and recycling ecosystem aiming to accelerate the municipality´s transition to a bio and circular economy.
4) Creation of a transformative and adaptive area designed to anticipate and react to the future, assuring longevity. This objective is achieved through the construction of transformative buildings and definition of multifunctional zones. The transformative buildings are simple and standardised structures - greenhouses - that can be adapted or converted into different uses.
5) Promotion of a symbiosis between natural, productive and building areas through ecological corridors, arborisation, green spaces, natural paths and agricultural fields.
This project proposes to create an agro-productive community, aiming to be an inclusive area that attracts different types of residents and users. A diversity of concepts and actions ables the development of this community and can be exemplary and replicated in other areas by:
1) Developing small green neighbourhoods composed of housing around a courtyard with community gardens, compost stations and common leisure areas. These groups allow high-quality living standards supporting a sustainable way of living where neighbours can meet and share experiences.
2) Creating flexible buildings through greenhouses that allow adaptation and repurposing to different uses. This standardized building system allows for a practical change of use given its ability to add, remove or repair elements, permitting the simple change of use from a greenhouse to a housing or social centre.
3) Defining different housing typologies to create social diversity. The mix of different typologies - villas, row houses, multi-housing and housing greenhouses with varying unit sizes - brings diverse communities together, allowing for demographic and social sustainability.
4) Creating Municipality property-owned areas that allow public building developments. The Municipality can develop and regulate building areas, promoting accessibility and affordability.
5) Developing Sustainable and inclusive mobility solutions. For example, in the core of the area is proposed a shared public space, the main connection and access to the residential area of Anttila. It is designed with the wider needs of residents in mind. It aims to minimize the impact of traffic use and create a public space for the citizens (children, bikers, elders or farmers) where different social activities occur.
6) Cooperating with universities and polytechnic institutions that will develop research in different themes, support innovative projects, and teach sustainable farming systems to farmers and residents.
The close involvement of the citizens of Tuusula in the Anttila Farm project was always an objective during all development stages. The detailed plan was developed in different stages, and two workshops were held to engage citizens in the project. During the last decades, the sense of belonging has faded, and the heritage and memories of the place are getting lost. These workshops aimed to share information about the project, listen to the citizens and understand the area's spirit. The workshops and local visits held were crucial to understanding Anttila and transporting the meaning of the place to the new project.
The first workshop was focused on collecting opinions and expectations of the overall community. This workshop was essential to understand Antilla and its history. The citizens reported their memories of Anttila, showed their emotional connection to the site, shared know-how about agricultural traditions and even information about local environmental problems. It was fundamental for the design team to understand the area's shortcomings: the shores' pollution and how the past agricultural exploration of the site depleted the soil. It was especially relevant to hear about the site's history from the personal accounts of those who experienced it in its wholeness.
In the second workshop, the audience was divided into small groups that discussed different proposals and gave feedback or ideas to improve the detailed plan. The citizens were free to propose whatever they had in mind for the site. The result showed the conflicting aspirations of the population, from those who expected it to remain the same to those who advocated a radical transformation into an area more in line with the current times. This exercise helped the design team feel the citizens' pulse and set the boundaries of their proposal.
During the project's development, information was shared on the local news and the municipality website.
The difficulty over the years in finding a solution that responded to the politicians' and citizens' wishes demanded the search for a third party that could have an impartial perspective on the site and situation. Moreover, finding new and innovative solutions for local problems was crucial. Therefore, Anttila Farm was included in the Europan 15 competition, with the theme "Productive cities'', where different teams applied ideas and presented them at the European level. Antilla Farm Incubator won the first prize and developed this detailed plan.
The Antilla Farm Incubator detailed plan was developed in close cooperation with the municipality of Tuusula, with the teams responsible for the surrounding lakeshore project, for strategy articulation, and with the citizens of Tuusula.
The plan considered the remarks made in the workshops with all stakeholders, namely the municipality members and the citizens' representatives. During the development process, it was possible to reach solutions that served both the aspirations of the citizens and the municipality members while responding to the urbanistic rules demands, keeping the sustainable agenda in place and giving the Tuusula municipality a chance to achieve a more sustainable path.
At a regional level, meetings were held with environmental and planning entities to ensure the cohesion of the Detail Plan with the regional ideas and plans for Lake Tuusula.
The detail plan project was developed by a transdisciplinary team composed of architects, urban and mobility planners and low-carbon development and climate change mitigation researchers. The municipality technicians were included in this team, adding knowledge in specific disciplines such as geology, history, infrastructures, and urbanism. This team composition allowed for a comprehensive overview of the needs and potential of the site in a sensible urban response while keeping in place a sustainable solution. The work was developed in cooperation through meetings and workshops with all team members. Also, different sectorial meetings took place during the design process.
In parallel with the Detail plan, a Circular Economy Concept Report was developed, describing and explaining principles and actions embedded within the plan design.
This transdisciplinary team reached a detailed plan proposal that could project the site heritage into the future through an urban settlement adapted to the needs and possibilities of the Tuusula population.
The Anttila Farm Incubator detail plan will reinstate the use of the currently abandoned Anttila Farm, respecting its history and cultural identity. Through the regeneration of Anttila's agricultural heritage, this project will reinforce the spirit of Anttila. It will revitalise the sense of belonging that today is mainly only present in elderly citizens. The Detail plan projects Anttila into the future, promoting inclusion, diversity and sustainability by developing different uses and typologies. Its ability to respond to the aspirations of both the citizens and politicians will maintain the strong emotional link of the citizens to the site preventing its future degradation or abandonment.
This project will, in turn, promote the municipality as an example of good sustainability practices in urban developments and historical heritage regeneration. At the same time, the engagement of multidisciplinary stakeholders will allow for a strong social, economic, and research base project that will keep the site's relevance for decades.
The Anttila Farm incubator will function as a research institution and as a farmer incubator helping young farmers develop their knowledge and business skills, creating a stronger and more prepared farmer class that can keep up with the changes in time and climate.
The detail plan regenerates the social, economic and ecological environment while preserving Anttila's essence. In parallel, it introduces sustainable and flexible solutions that make the proposals used and relevant for decades without repurposing structures, infrastructures or services. Moreover, the solutions reduce the plan’s ecological footprint by reducing its need for transformation and increasing its adaptation abilities.
The Detail plan proposes a different approach from the mainstream territory development. Instead of focusing on economic growth or responding to a particular social problem, it has a holistic approach. It tries to move one step further, believing that resiliency is not only achieved by good sustainable practices but also by economic viability and cultural identity. It tries to relate these three domains in a circular economy-influenced mentality.
Incorporating circular economy principles into a Detail plan was one of the main challenges of this project. Traditional Detail plans don’t include this concept, and sustainability is still not the main focus. This plan incorporates circular economy principles since the beginning of the concept design, being part of its vision and development strategy. The Detail plan is supported by a circular economy report, describing design and regulation measures and defining implementation and monitoring strategies.
The concept of the Farm Incubator can also be highlighted as an innovative system. It is a group of infrastructures focused on teaching, researching and implementing sustainable farming practices in partnership with local education institutions. It supports farming startups in developing innovative solutions. Accommodation and farmable land are also provided for the students/farmers. The Farm Incubator is the seed of a circular urban concept: a production/ urban circle among the housing where the products are sorted and distributed in the local Farm Market.
Concerning the plan and building design, the project also developed an innovative proposal through small neighbourhoods and the design of adaptable building concepts. This transformative concept is an example of social and sustainable infrastructure. Through transformative buildings, an adaptation of the built environment is allowed for any use or need extending the life of the urban settlement since it can adapt to any change of use without losing its identity.
Multiple views and disciplines developed the Anttila farm incubator in a common conceptual framework. This project followed a transdisciplinary approach focused on solving problems, always with the key objectives in mind. These objectives were constructed by performing a plural diagnosis that included the analysis of different disciplines, giving a holistic view from Antilla. The sustainability and circular economy disciplines have been involved since the project began and were part of the construction of the final Detail plan.
The project was developed in four phases: 1. Concept (EUROPAN15 competition); 2. Diagnosis and citizens' engagement; 3. Draft development; 4. Final Plan Proposal
Within the first phase, the concept and strategy were defined through thorough research and exploration. The Anttila Farm Incubator was the winning proposal for the Europan 15 competition. After the competition, the work started implementing the concept as a Detail plan.
The second phase included the citizens' engagement. Different workshops were held: internal and public workshops were fundamental to understanding the community’s wishes and aspirations. In this phase, it was important to identify how to transform the ideas of the first proposal into a Detail plan.
In the third phase, diverse draft deliveries/workshops were held. The municipality and project teams met to discuss the project and work development. A workshop was held for the community on the same day, allowing the project teams to discuss their proposals with the population. Different options were presented, and the attendants gave their feedback. In the project's fourth phase, more plan proposal drafts were developed, and different digital meetings were held between the municipality and the multidisciplinary project team.
In this project, different innovative aspects can be replicated in other places, specifically in rural areas: (1) the farm incubator concept; (2) adaptive building systems; (3) the incorporation of circular economy and sustainability principles.
1) The farm incubator concept can be a solution for depressive rural areas with an agricultural heritage. In the last decades, the population migration into urban areas resulted in the abandonment of rural territories. On the one hand, the rural identity and heritage have been lost. On the other hand, massive global agriculture increased and impacted the environment. Consequently, developing new agricultural techniques and supporting new economic and productive paradigms is essential, always thinking about reducing the carbon footprint. This farm incubator concept is important in regenerating these rural areas and preserving the agricultural heritage.
2) The Adaptive building system can be set as an example to be reproduced in other places. This type of sustainable living is essential for two main reasons: it creates a strong identity for the place, and reinforces the green and sustainable-living concept that fits the centre and northern countries' climates. These buildings have high aesthetic qualities and provide good quality and comfortable living conditions since they provide a temperate climate inside the house despite harsh weather conditions.
3) Incorporating sustainable circular economy principles into a detailed plan is essential for achieving a sustainable territory. By integrating these principles into their management and regulation documents, municipalities must develop and promote better practices. The Anttila Farm Incubator Detail Plan can be an example of applying different regulations and techniques since it incorporates circular economy principles since the beginning of the concept design, part of its vision and development strategies.
The world urges for action. Consequently, the UN adopted an Agenda for Sustainable Development incorporating 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), taken into account in the Plan and providing small local steps to address global challenges.
First, this Plan contributes to making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (SGD11) promoting sustainable systems and protecting the natural heritage. This Detail Plan was developed in a participatory process focused on resource efficiency and the mitigation/adaptation to climate change.
Second, sustainable management and efficient resource use are the main circular economy principles. It is crucial to minimize waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse. To address these issues, the Plan proposes, such as the reuse and repurpose of construction materials or the development of urban waste plans. These actions "ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns (SDG12)".
Third, this Plan proposes different actions to promote water-use efficiency, in line with SDG6 (clean water and sanitation), such as, the implementation of infrastructure for retention and drainage of rainwater in public spaces and buildings, or smart irrigation for public green spaces.
Fourth, developing the Farm Incubator will increase the agricultural productivity of small-scale producers, ensuring the development of sustainable food production systems. It aims to implement resilient agricultural practices, contributing to SDG2 (Zero Hunger).
Fifth, the Plan proposes renewable sources and infrastructures focused on energy efficiency. Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy (SGD7)
The Plan was designed to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of existing ecosystems (SDG15) contributing to healthier lives and good well-being (SDG3), where a sense of community, inclusion and equality (SDG5/10) is strengthened by the territory's cohesion supported by the green neighbourhoods.
