



THE NIEMI AREA, located on the shore of Lake Vesijärvi in Lahti, is in the process of being vacated of its industrial use, and it will gradually be transformed into a diverse urban residential environment. The companies Polt- timo and UPM-Kymmene, which both operate in the area, organised together with the City of Lahti an ideas competition for the design of the shoreline area, the results of which
will be used as a basis for the further town planning. The aim is for the city district to rely on the natural environment and the history of the location, and to make use of the potential of recent trends in the circular economy, mobility and energy production.
The main function of the competition was to define the amount and method of suitable construction that could be adapted to the environment in question. Most of the old industrial buildings will have to be demolished due to their poor condition, but one particular warehouse had to be preserved and taken into consideration in the planning of the construction and public outdoor spaces. The objective was to connect the university campus located in the eastern part of the area and the new urban residential and workplace area to the lakeside milieu.