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