Toppilansaari Park

Oulu is a city at the northern tip of the Baltic Sea, just 160 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle. But anyone who thinks this is a sleepy nest in the middle of nowhere is mistaken. It is the city with the largest economic growth in the country and therefore the need for new and affordable housing in attractive surroundings is constantly increasing.

In 2005, Oulu was the site of the Finnish Urban Development Exhibition: Toppilansaari, a headland enclosed by the industrial canal leading to the port on the one hand and the open sea on the other, was chosen as the site. The residential development is conceived as a sustainable pilot project. A green area forms the core in which the individual buildings are scattered. This park provides conveniently close and informal recreational space and thereby reduces the strain on the nearby sensitive wetland. In addition, rain and spring melt water are collected here and slowly released to the wetland in a clarified form. Toppilansaari means "The Young Sailor's Park", and this name also defines the program for both art projects along the northern and southern sides of the green space. In the southern part, the "Sunken Boat" commemorates those sailors who never returned from their voyage. The "Lichtstrudek" at the other end of the park is already recognizable from afar as a point of orientation.