A project by the Danish bureau COBE and Finnish Lundén Architecture won first place in an international competition for the reconstruction of a railway station and the creation of a transport hub in the center of Tampere. The new multifunctional space should become the "front gate" not only for the second largest city in the country, but for the whole of Finland.
The main idea behind the Reuniting Tampere project, as reflected in its name, is to “consolidate” the currently fragmented city center with a large public square and a new park.
The public square is the core of the complex, where urban activity is concentrated and services are located, a tourist information center, ticket offices, bicycle parking; the square is bordered by buildings of various functions: a cinema, a supermarket, shops, cafes and restaurants, housing and offices. This space, called by the authors of the "city living room", blocks the station itself and the railway tracks: the entrance to the platform is through a large round opening in the center of the square. Above the "living room" and the trains passing under it, a roof soars, supported by columns with fan-shaped "capitals". It is this structure that forms the memorable appearance of the complex, creates unusual internal spaces and opens intriguing views of the city for travelers arriving in Tampere.
The project provides for the creation of a park, framed by an arcade along one side. On the lower level, from the side of the green space, there are shops, cafes and restaurants with terraces, and on the top there is a pedestrian street, to which residential buildings and offices are facing: thus, the arcade becomes a "border line" between a sparse park environment and dense urban fabric.
The authors of the project are confident that such a multifunctional transport hub in the heart of Tampere carries a powerful impetus for the development of the city center.
Since the competition project implied the presentation of an architectural concept, one should not wait for the object to be embodied exactly as SOBE imagines it. However, the city authorities assure that the subsequent development of the territory will be based on the winning option, and already now there are public hearings and consultations with local residents.