Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2015 | Page 36

The Comeback King
Spearheaded by shopping centre Ainoa, the legendary
Tapiola Centre is being upgraded for the future

Once again, there is an air of anticipation in Tapiola, the iconic “Garden
City” of Espoo. Tapiola, of course, is near and dear to the hearts of all Finns
and widely regarded as a natural treasure; upon its birth over 60 years ago,
Tapiola was a shining example of a modern community rooted in natural
values. The first-built parts of Tapiola Commercial Centre (from the 1950s
and 1960s) still form a valued architectural landmark – but, over time, the
centre lost some of its momentum and its sense of purpose.

T

he fragmented ownership of the Tapiola
Centre didn’t exactly help in the development of the area, and the emergence
of strong rivals – in the form of new shopping centres – seemed to signal the beginning of the end for the Centre. Then the City
of Espoo came to the rescue with its metro
plans and a determined effort was made by
the property owners to return the Centre to
its former glory.
With the advent of the metro, more than
20,000 passengers will be using the Tapiola
station every day. Looking at those types of
volumes, it is easy enough to imagine that a
completely new chapter in the development
of the neighbourhood is about to begin. The
over-all aim is to create a lively, multifaceted
34 Nordicum

urban centre with modern mass transportation terminals, well-organised parking and
maintenance arrangements. When all these
things come together, there will be no stopping Tapiola’s comeback.

Back to the Future
As the Helsinki metro line extends to Tapiola
in 2016, the blocks to the south of the original Centre will be renewed according to
the same urban sociological principles that
first created the Garden City. As a consequence, the Tapiola Centre will be totally
transformed. According to the plans, t B