Converting urban voids

In the 1800s, for reasons of public safety, downtown Pori was configured into an urban grid. The city is made up of mostly underdeveloped blocks, whose one common element is the overwhelming amount of negative space found between the loosely scattered buildings built into their peripheries. The proposal works with the existing block typology to create a positive condition that could be replicable throughout the city.
The position of the new buildings comes from a strong desire to define the boundaries of the block, a rectangle of 100x140 metres. In the first phase the two corners on the main boulevard are configured, to be added. The new buildings, along with some of the existing structures, generate both pedestrian and vehicular flows through the block. The formal and visual fluidity of this topographical building invites the public to move through the block, while not disturbing the semiprivate garden function this space provides for the residents.