The selected teams are (in alphabetical order):
Apia XXI, Spain
Arup, Netherlands
Carlos Fernández Casado, Spain
Insinööritoimisto Pontek, Finland
Knippers Helbig GmbH, Germany
Ove Arup & Partners International, UK
Roughan & O'Donovan, Ireland
Schüssler-Plan Ingenieurgesellschaft Berlin, Germany
Setec tpi, France
WSP Finland, Finland
The shortlist was due to have been revealed more than a year ago. The competition was stalled by a legal challenge from one of the rejected competitors, but Finland’s Market Court announced in September that it had found in favour of the competition organisers, allowing the plans to resume.
If Helsinki decides to build the project, Kruunusillat will connect the new Kruunuvuorenranta district, under development from 2013, to the inner city. Kruunusillat would be made up of at least two bridges connected via the Korkeasaari island. The longest of the bridges could span 1.2km, making it the longest bridge in Finland. The bridges will be meant for trams, bicycles and pedestrians.
About 50 teams registered as candidates for the competition last autumn, and 10 teams were selected. They have visited Helsinki attending a competition launch seminar. The submitted designs will be released in February.
“The competitors include top bridge designers and engineers,” said Jari Tirkkonen, who manages the Kruunuvuorenranta project at the City of Helsinki Economic & Planning Centre. “We can expect fine plans, which would definitely make a worthy new icon for Helsinki compatible with the site.”
The bridge proposals will be on view at the Laituri city planning information and meeting place as well as online in February 2013. Citizen feedback will be summarised for the jury that will make its decision. The jury will also review the results of an environmental impact assessment, currently under way.
The City of Helsinki has not yet made a decision on the implementation of Kruunusillat. “We have decided to find out what kind of bridge connection Helsinki would obtain and what is feasible, because Helsinki wants to favour sustainable forms of transport, such as rail transport, and to improve public transport services,” said deputy mayor Pekka Sauri, who chairs the jury.
