Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2014 | Page 23

Photo: SARC Architects nels with a length of 14 km each. But the tunnels are easy enough, if look at the level of details involving the stations. For example, the stations will be fitted with 56 different electrical systems, from lighting to track power supply and smoke detection systems. In addition to the stations, excavation work has been carried out for fifteen vertical shafts designed for emergency exit, pressure equalisation, ventilation and smoke extraction. Nine work tunnels have been designed for construction and maintenance work. The last eight months of the project have been reserved for the test drives, with the metro line’s external areas, such as escalators, platform areas, station buildings etc. being completed simultaneously. Energising Espoo The aim is to have the metro stations standing by and all ready to go by the summer of 2015, says Kokkinen. And come the end of the year, the good people of Espoo can hop on the metro and go do their Christmas shopping, if everything goes as planned. Nevertheless, the impact of metro goes way beyond smooth logistics. All six stations on Espoo side will be deployed – in one way or other – to spearhead the local development effort. Olavi Louko comments that the City of Espoo is expecting for the metroline to add a ”dynamic element” to the communities nearby the metro station – and also have a strong positive impact on areas which are a little further off. The new Suurpelto community, for example, will be only a five-minute bus ride away from Niittykumpu station. Electrically charged e-buses can be used to handle the feeder traffic, making sure that green edge is maximised every step of the way. But what should one expect, taking the metro under the sea and arriving to the shores of Espoo in Keilaniemi – and travelling beyond, too, until the end of the line? Well, the first stop is the corporate neighbourhood of Keilaniemi which is about to add the very first residential towers to its already prominent line-up. In addition, the shoreline will be opened up to the public more and more. Moving on to Otaniemi, which is home to “innovation university” Aal Ѽ