1. An Important Piece of the Puzzle
Erika Wörman
Head studio C
Architect
Sweco Architects AB
Stockholm
Sweden
erika.worman@sweco.se
Keywords: humanistic, lifestyles, ecological, urban, segregation, social, economical, sustainable,
comfortable, Sweden
Extended Abstract
Well-being is crucial for the long-term qualities we are trying to
create in our new built environments. We want to present a small-
scale, urban and humanistic way to plan attractive living areas.
We present solutions for well-being implied in our residential area
Pakkalan Kartanonkoski. It is situated 3 kilometers from the airport
in Vantaa, Finland. After winning an international competition in
1998 we have made the detail-plan for Finland’s probably most
exposed and debated new-built area. Today more than 3 600
people live here and many more want to move in.
Fig. 1 Diversified colouring
• Kartanonkoski is going to be exposed during Helsinki World
Design Capital 2012 for its beautiful town-planning.
• The area has won a social prize for its comfortable town-
structure.
• In a national broadcasted competition in MTV3 the area
came on a top ten position considering Finland’s best
living-area through time.
• Finland’s most seen film 2008 is a family-movie filmed in the
area. The area is considered very friendly to children and
the movie has spread the areas popularity even more.
The comfort in the area is visible. Green avenues and narrow
winding streets are composed in a hierarchical structure like in
small towns. Different streets have different character. The
Fig. 2 The town-structure is buildings are situated close to the streets and behind the houses,
dynamic and hierarchical in shelter from the common streets, lay the private gardens and
half-private courtyards. You move safe through the city on narrow
streets, walkways and graveled paths in the central park. Small
common parks inside the block create many great opportunities
for social meetings.

2. Fig. 3 The Ille-park created for
exploration and unpretentious
meetings
The characteristic identity of the area creates a strong feeling of solidarity between the inhabitants.
The central park with its beautiful new-built pond for day water, the exciting design of the park made
for experiences for all ages and its beautiful greenery creates many opportunities for unpretentious
meetings.
• The comfort in the area gives the people who live here great quality
in life.
• The strong identity makes the inhabitants proud of being a part of the
area.
These two facts give the area both an economic and social positive trend.
Fig. 4 You move Kartanonkoski is built on a ground with low value and has now increased
safe through the city the whole community’s reputation and created a strong trademark.
We have to define various attractive genres and town-structures. We must
create new urban areas with insight about human conditions and
preferences. We must learn from old misstakes and old successes and
learn to create beautiful, comfortable, ecological living. This is a true
humanistic attitude and when this is fully implemented we will build
dynamic, diversified, characteristic, long-time attractive urban
environments for the future.
Fig. 5 Social meeting in
the yard

3. An Important Piece of the Puzzle
Erika Wörman
Head Studio C
Architect
SWECO Architects
Stockholm
Sweden
erika.worman@sweco.se
Keywords: humanistic, lifestyles, ecological, urban, segregation, social, economical, sustainable,
comfortable, Sweden
Full Paper
Summary
Humans have for a long time been attracted by the benefits of living close to each other in
communities. The process of urbanisation has its power from cities being centres of culture, power
and economy activities, and hence centres of decision making.
Some cities have become attractions in it selves and attract inhabitants, companies and tourists
from all over the world. These cities have obviously great values. All of the attractive cities are
characterized of layered complexity in contrary of separation of uses. We must direct our planning
efforts with personal experiences towards real cities. We have most of all to consider the human
aspect of urban planning in order to get long-term quality.
With urban lifestyles dominating the world there is an increasing interest to define and create the
“good city” in policy, research and practise. There is no question that if ever achievable, the city in
itself can display a high concentration of windows of opportunities. Mankind has tremendous
knowledge in various disciplines considering long-term durable issues. We must have a holistic view
and coordinate the positive synergies in order to create long-term durable urban areas. One of the
key questions is how define what is attractive. Why do we feel comfortable in some urban
environments and not in others? When we’re busy learning how to plan we´re busy forgetting whom
we´re planning for. The challenge of planning is the public, and the public is also the key to a
successful plan. People and environment exists in symbiosis; planning fails not because it is
conceptually flawed, but because it too often relies on technically derived solutions rather than
human ones.
We have to define various humanistic attractive town-shapes in urban planning. This is crucial for
our future planning. We seem though often to lack capability to plan new attractive urban areas with
city-centres and instead we plan suburban structures. We must create new urban areas with insight
about human conditions and preferences. We must learn from old mistakes and old successes and
learn to create beautiful, comfortable, ecological living for the future.
We present solutions implied in our environmental area Pakkalan Kartanonkoski, a small-scale and
humanistic part of the “good city”.

4. 1. The cause of wellbeing
1:1 Attractive urban space
One of the strongest attractions of a town according to human wellbeing lies in the space in
between the buildings. One of the most obvious attractions in urban planning is the streets and
public places. It is also crucial to plan with a strong, own identity. This is what separates a sub-
urban environment from a city-like. The spaces in between the buildings in a town are very well
specified and have defined limits. The facades constitute walls and the design of the ground
describes the floor of the town-room. Inhabitants and visitors feel safe when they dwell in the public
town-room such as streets and squares, because they understand the code of the limits. Human
beings have limitations in our spatial ability and have therefore difficulties in understanding too large
and too vaguely defined spaces. When we have difficulties in understanding what we perceive we
do not feel comfortable.
When we share public room we tend to easily take contact with
each other, especially if the room is not too big. Social contacts are
also easily to take when we slow down and have something in
common, for example in squares, playgrounds, small parks such as
“village greens” and in common courtyards. Different public rooms
have different “temperature” according to social behaviour. We
have to create different public urban rooms with different content
and different nuances in publicity and tempo. This is fundamental in
Fig. 1 People meet in small order to get social contact and social stability in urban areas. The
parks inside the block environment also has to create an unpretentious feeling to make
social contact easy. The dynamics between common urban spaces
like streets and squares, and the private and half-private zones, like a private garden or a courtyard,
gives dynamic living in the town. We can choose to be public or private when we are outside our
dwelling.
1:2 Architectural symbols
We have to consider what humanistic design has to consist to
make humans feel good, and in that perspective we have to
dissect architectural symbols and our five senses. All images
are signs and all built environments are containing symbols.
We interpret what we see in art into pictures of real world.
The discipline that must investigate how we experience built
environments is therefore not only the psychology of
perception but the semiotics – the science of signs.
Irrespective of what we want, architecture and urban
Fig.2 Welcome? Welcome! environments affect everyone. We get affected of our built
environment conscious and sub-conscious. Attractive built
environments affects us with positive cognitive benefits. In nature we can prove cognitive benefits
as well as in some genres of music. Art and photographs of nature gives the same cognitive
benefits as in real life. Many of our new-built and planned urban areas give no consider to these
values, and therefore many of our new urban areas are too monotonous and have no own identity
of its own. Their attraction-values are depending on another attraction like an old charming town or
a lively city-centre
1.3 Our spatial capability of thinking and perception
It is hard to remember different streets or parts of urban areas when all streets and buildings are
very similar. This will make us confused and uncomfortable because we have difficulties in

5. remembering where we have been and therefore find our way. A comfortable urban area has a
hierarchical structure where the buildings, streets and public places have different design and work
together to create an understandable and logical structure. Everything is linked in a well-defined,
hierarchical order based on the place conditions, the content of the town and in symbiosis with the
landscape. Whole blocks of houses have in modernistic planning often the same colour and design.
This make us perceive them as gigantic wholes instead of individual buildings. We have therefore
difficulties in our perception – we have too few details to cling our perception and remembrance on.
1.4 Dynamic town-structure
Dynamic town-planning consider these facts and organize
therefore the urban environment in an understandable,
hierarchical structure and in a human scale. With different width
of the streets, colouring of the facades, house-types, squares,
and so forth we can design the urban landscape to explain the
hierarchical structure. An urban plan with hierarchical
organization of the streets is designed to lead us and reduce
the necessity of signs. This structure also gives, in a naturally
way, an interesting and various urban area.
Understanding a town-structure and find my way through the
town without signs, is valuable according to comfort. The
streets and the different parts of the town need a hierarchical
organisation which create dynamic, sprung out of the content of
Fig. 3 Town-planning in a the town. This gives an understandable structure, which also
hierarchical structure explains the organisation of the town. In other words –you will
easy find your way through the environment because you will
understand the structure and recognize different landmarks and places through their different
identity and hierarchical value. Compared with suburban structures, which are monotonous, the
dynamic of humanistic town-shaping explains to the visitors where they are.
The hierarchical structure explains where in the town you are, where to go, and how to find your
way. For example can a high building mark a city-centre and main streets can orientate towards that
building. The high building will become an important landmark for the city-centre and mark the
town’s central parts. This will result in two things:
• You will easy find the city-centre
• You can use the high building as a landmark to understand where you are
Buildings also use their “body-language” to explain direction or movements in the structure. Through
their relation to the street buildings can give a hint if you are supposed to stop in a crossroad or if
you have priority. Buildings and plan structure works together in symbiosis and it is important that
these expressions are synchronized.
1.5 Colours
Colours are strong symbols and affect us in a conscious and unconscious way. For example green
and blue are the most prevalent colours in the environment, so they tend to have a comforting and
calming effect on people. Purple, which also is a calming colour, reminds people of royalty, bravery
and honour. The military Purple Heart is time-honoured tradition that traces its root to medieval time.
The problem with colours is that some shades may be too garish or foppish, especially in urban
landscapes. Today most of our urban areas share the same few colours which often only are
shades of grey and white.
Three studies of the psychological and physiological effects on people of coloured room interiors
indicate that the colour will have impact in many different levels. The perception of the space was
affected and the colours also had an impact on the emotions and physiology of the trial-persons.
Strong colours, especially red, and patterns put the brain into a more excited state, sometimes to
such an extent as to cause a paradoxical slowing of the heart rate. Practical implication shows that

6. we can use colours to stimulate emotions and physiology that are adequate for the specific
experience we want to create in a specific urban space.
1.6 Symbioses between built environment and vegetation
The benefits when we plan urban areas in symbiosis with
vegetation are many. The planned vegetation such as trees and
cut hedges is after the buildings the most important tool to create
the definition of the town-room. The combination of buildings,
greenery and the width of the streets give endless opportunities
of variation. The difference between town-like streets and green,
winding roads with private villas or row-hoses is a central part of a
town’s dynamic hierarchy. New technology is not enough to solve
the ecological crisis in the world. We have to change our way of
living and thinking. When we plan our future cities we have to
consider future lifestyles where access to grow parts of your own
Fig. 4 The Ille-park created food and compost is one important issue. The benefits are
for unpretentious meetings ecological, economical, social, esthetical, and pedagogical.
Urban nature should be integrated parts of the city and gives
great social-ecological synergies when planned proactive. We can prove cognitive benefits of
interacting with nature and nature-like areas such as parks. They are therefore central in humanistic
town-planning.
Microclimate between buildings in many modernistic suburbs is often very windy. The lack of high
trees and too big buildings with no urban qualities in the plan-structure, give the environment a bad
humanistic microclimate. Trees are central in urban nature. They form a green ceiling in the streets
and over the sidewalks, they reduce uncomfortable wind forces, they give us shadow in the
summertime, glittering branches with rime in the wintertime. Flowering trees and bushes can give a
wonderful fragrance and beautiful colours. We explore and experience urban environments with all
five senses, consciously and unconsciously. Urban nature also provides local ecosystem services
such as absorption of air pollution, reduction of noise and wind-forces and provision of places for
recreation, and is therefore crucial to urban sustainability development.
1:7 Town-shape and climate
When we study old built environments from before modernism, we can often see that the shape is
adjusted after local climate conditions. An illustrative example is Dubai where the town-structure of
the old town is built to counteract sandstorms with narrow, winding streets and low buildings. Trees
and winding, narrow streets give less wind forces and shadow in the summertime. The modern
parts are not adjusted to the environmental conditions. Here the town has got a more suburban
design with high buildings in a sparse structure.
1:8 Attraction of sound
Positive sounds in built environment are seldom or never considered when we plan new urban
areas. We consider negative sounds like noise from traffic but positive sounds like, music, bird-
singing or positive “environmental-sounds” are not considered. We get very affected of sounds and
negative sounds are very stressful. Positive sounds on the contrary give many positive cognitive
benefits. “Soundscape” is a word invented of the Canadian composer Robert Murray Schafer. The
expression includes all sounds that belong to a certain environment. We expect certain sounds in
specific environments. Sounds that are experienced comfortable and informative have to come to
their right and given opportunity to be heard. The different characters in the urban area can be
strengthened with a conscious planning of sounds.

7. 1:9 Urban environments and safety
It is very safe to walk or bicycle through an area with dynamic structure where the buildings
are close to the street. Narrow streets request careful driving and they should be designed
on the condition of pedestrians. Apartment-windows close to the streets give indirect light
and the inhabitants can supervise what is happening in the street. This conveys that it feels
safe to walk in the streets even in dark wintertime. Bicycle lanes should be prioritized in
avenues. A deliberate strategy for cycling is very important in order to make it safe and easy
to go by bike.
1:10 Urban sprawl
Suburban sprawl is a multifaceted concept, which includes the spreading outwards of a city
and its suburbs to its outskirts to low-density and auto-dependent development on rural land,
high segregation of uses and people and design features that encourages car dependency.
Urban sprawl results in:
• High car density
• High costs for infrastructure per person
• High level of racial, cultural and socioeconomic segregation
• Low public support for sprawl
• High use of energy, land and water per capita.
A central part to counteract urban sprawl is to build diverge urban structures with high (but
different) density in combination with a lively city-centre with commercial life. An attractive
city-centre gives unseeingly consequences according to attraction in all parts of the town and
its surroundings. When we implement a hierarchical town-structure in planning we
automatically counteract urban sprawl.
1:11 Genus loci
The place itself contains identity in forms of paths, landscape details,
trees, geological conditions, historical landmarks, etc. It is important to
identify a place conditions and qualities before we plan a new area.
For example can day water be used in new ponds and watercourses,
existing trees can be a part of the new common town-rooms, hills can
give an interesting plan to the streets and so on. When identity is
sprung out of the existing environmental conditions we get natural
variations. It is also valuable to define other environmental conditions
such as ambient built environments and landscape directly outside the
area. Variation stands in this meaning in contrast to monotonous. The
modern society is asking for diversity and paradoxes with multitude
Fig. 5 Day-water surprises. That will have effect on people’s creativity and creativity is
pond creates considered an economic asset in future society. The city should be a
positive values communication-nave as well as finance-centre. Creativity generates a
perfect soil for seminal ideas and that will have direct impact on our
development.
2. Well-being as a model for integration and socio-/ economical
sustainability
2.1 Attraction gives economical and social values
Many of our most attractive areas were from the beginning built for workers and people with
low social status, for example Garden-Cities. They are today considered attractive and
beautiful and have strong own identity. Today they are inhabited by high-income households
with high social status despite their simplicity and long distance to a city-centre.

8. Historical the processes of urbanization functioned as a potent catalyst for social speculation
and social action. The lower classes these activists were attempting to help were living in
squalid and significantly unhealthy conditions. City dwellers must somehow be brought to
perceive themselves as members of cohesive communities knit together by shared moral
and social values. The Garden-City advocates in the beginning of our past century were
driven from a political, ecological and social point of view. Their ambition was to combine
cities with farming areas in an ecological unit. Another goal was to create independent cities,
free from class-segregation. These questions are still actual and we have a lot to learn from
succeeded examples from these believes. Good examples of urban environments are often
built during times of crisis for working-class people or people in lower middle-class. They are
proved to be durable because of their modern functioning despite their age. Judged by their
high price-levels today they are very attractive environments and the access of these kinds of
areas is lower than the demand. This proves that it is both economical and long durable
social values we create when we plan attractive environments.
2.2 Attraction against segregation
Attractive environments have long-term stability considering
social and economical values. If we do not plan attractive
areas, people that can afford to choose something more
attractive moves, and we will get social segregated areas.
The result is that the area gets a negative economic and
social spiral. And the result of that is that we do not get the
qualities we need to create long-time durable urban areas.
The increasing social and ethnic segregation is a big threat
toward our urban areas. History is telling us to avoid patent-
Fig. 6 Social meeting in solutions. We have to provide for various taste-lines of living-
the yard areas and make certain that different ownerships are built
side by side in a rich tissue of town-structures with different
identity and social layers. To build attractive areas give immense social and economical
benefits. And it is not more expensive to produce - it is a question of humanistic and
attractive design.
3. Discussion, final comments and conclusions
Today we build suburban environments with few humanistic grounds because we have many
architectural taboos considering modern design. For example we still consider Le Corbusier’s
80 year old vision of a new time as a modern way to plan urban areas. With promises of
sunlight, air and light a long row of suburbs grew up in order to solve the lack of habitations
in the outskirt of the big cities. This genre of monotone architecture and repetitive town-
planning was soon considered uncomfortable and very soon segregated living-areas
occurred with almost only exposed minorities. The artistic and social visions in Corbusier’s
ideas proved to lead to uncomfortable and anonymous suburbs with social and economic
collapse. These areas lack of humanistic insight is the cause of their total social and
economical failure and we have to study them only for their mistakes. We have to dare to let
go of the Modernistic believe - it is not modern any longer.
3.1 Perception of values
Our built environments affect us in a concrete, physical way but more on a subconscious,
intuitive level. We have to realize that the science of signs is nothing we can choose not to
bring into our minds when we dwell in built environments. We all are very sensitive in this
matter and we often get affected without knowing why. Gloomy colours, repellent and sharp
design and materials that are not considered ecological, dominate our artistic visions today.

9. Architecture is one of the most powerful symbols of our culture. Through our environmental
symbols we must lead the way to the kind of future we want to have.
3.2 Architectural solutions expressed in Pakkalan Kartanonkoski
We present a small-scale, urban and humanistic way to plan environments. We want to
contribute with the environment Pakkalan Kartanonkoski. It is
situated only 3 km from Vantaa Airport, Helsinki, Finland. After
winning a competition in 1998 we have made the detail-plan for
Finland’s probably most exposed and debated new area. Today
more than 3 600 people live here and many more wants to move in.
The people in Finland have confirmed that the genre of
Fig. 7 Trademark Kartanonkoski represents a part of the future. In a competition in
Finnish National Television MTV3, people could propose attractive
urban environments in Finland. Kartanonkoski were selected and ended up in a top ten
position in the following national audience-voting. The architect of the area Erika Wörman,
have got the Vanda-medal for her extraordinary achievements.
The comfort of the Kartanonkoski-area is visible. Green avenues and small, winding streets
are composed in a hierarchical structure like in small towns. Different streets have different
character. For Kartanonkoski we made an extensive quality-program in the planning process.
For example we coloured each building separately in order to strengthen the different
identities. The main street has red colours in order to mark the street’s high hierarchical
status. The buildings are situated close to the narrow streets and have entrances towards the
street. Behind the houses, in shelter from insight from the streets, lie the small and private
gardens and half-private courtyards. Small common parks inside the blocks create many
great opportunities for social meetings. The strong identity of the area creates a deep feeling
of solidarity between the inhabitants. This thesis already City Beautiful leaders advocated.
The Kartanonkoski-area has won a social prize for its exemplary town-planning. The central
“Ille-park” with its beautiful pond for day-water and its beautiful greenery – creates many
opportunities for unpretentious meetings. Play-tools and exciting environmental design made
for experiences, attracts people of all ages. With the sound of streaming water and playing
children it is a wonderful “soundscape” and in combination with a scent of roses the park
gives many perceptive qualities.The comfort of the area gives the people who live here great
quality in life. The strong identity makes the inhabitants proud of being a part of the area.
These facts give the area both an economic and social positive trend. Kartanonkoski is built
on a ground with low value but has now increased the whole community’s reputation and
given the municipality an international trademark. Kartanonkoski is going to be exposed
during Helsinki World Design Capital 2012 for its beautiful town-planning.
3.3 Durable planning for the future
Attraction in urban areas is the most important key to create long durable qualities according
to wellbeing. We have to clarify what human beings consider beautiful and comfortable and
therefore find attractive. What built environments do we choose to be in when we can – for
example in our vacation? Do we all go to the same type of area? Compared with other
disciplines in our culture, for example music, we have very little variations considered genres
in new-built architecture. People have various taste lines. Why doesn´t this show in
architecture? We cannot afford to continue planning unattractive environments, not from an
economic aspect nor from a humanistic. Moreover, it seriously undermines efforts to meet
the global challenge of climate change - and this is urgent. We must specify different genres
in architecture in order to give people an opportunity to choose. This is a true humanistic
attitude and when this approach is implemented we will build diversified, characteristic, long-
time attractive urban environments for the future.

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