The New Seinäjoki Station is Inaugurated
The multi-year project for the Seinäjoki Station Area containing the station building and travel center as well as the new center for wellbeing serves is almost complete now. The station building was inaugurated today, December 4, 2024.
The first part of the new development of the Seinäjoki Station Area was opened to the public today. The station complex is a hub for public transport, a service center as well as a workplace and home for hundreds of people. More than one million passengers pass through the Seinäjoki railway station every year. The inauguration of the station building is a great milestone for Seinäjoki and the entire province.
OOPEAA has been responsible for the architecture and the masterplan of the new station area. YIT has been responsible for the construction.
- To read an article published by YLE on people’s reactions admiring the new station on the day of its inauguration (in Finnish), see HERE.
Seinäjoki Station Complex – A New Landmark in the Heart of the City
The Seinäjoki station area is one of Finland’s most significant nodal points of public transport connections. The block forms a new, active core for the city, where functions and services meet. At the same time, it acts as a new landmark when arriving by train directly to the center of Seinäjoki.
The new development of the area around the Seinäjoki station provides a balanced mix of services, housing and spaces for offices and business. It offers people not only a comfortable meeting place but also homes, services and workplaces. The station area also provides a total of approximately 18,000 square meters of office space.
Located right in the middle of the city, the train station is the heart of the city and the entire surrounding region. It is a point of access into the city and a point of connection between the city and the rest of the country. With its generous open public spaces, the block complements the Central Market Square and the Aalto Center. It weaves them together into a coherent network of connected public gathering spaces in the center. With a generous array of public spaces, it forms a functional center of activity in the center of the city.
Built in Phases
In the next few years, the station area will be built on an area of approximately 18 hectares. The extent of the first construction phase, which started in August 2022, is approximately 40,000 square meters. The construction of the blocks towards the center of the Seinäjoki station area has been divided into several phases.
The first construction phase includes the family center of the regional welfare area, an office and business building containing the station hall, the station square, an underpass and a parking house of as well as an apartment building. In the next phase, two more apartment buildings will be built. Together they form an attractive gateway to the South Ostrobothnia region. With the station square serving as a link that connects the station area to the city center, the complex provides an identifiable landmark in the cityscape.
A Comprehensive Offering of Welfare Services Under One Roof
The new center makes it possible to gather all the different professionals in the same place. The operation of different professional groups under the same roof brings benefits to both the customer and the employee. At the beginning of December, services provided by the Seinäjoki regional welfare area that are currently scattered in almost 20 different locations will find a new home under one roof in the bright and comfortable premises of the new wellbeing center. The first customers are expected to be able to obtain services in the the new premises from week 51 on.
In the first wave, services for children and families will move into the building, such as maternity and family planning counseling, children’s counseling, parenting and family counseling, child protection and mental health services for children and youth. In January 2025, the center for elderly care and other social services will move into the premises. Oral health care will also be transferred in stages in January. The distribution of medical supplies, mental health services for adults, an adult counseling center and therapy services, such as speech therapy and children’s physical and occupational therapy, will also be available to customers at the new address later this year.
Seinäjoki Station – A Gateway to the City
The new block serves as a gateway into the city. It connects the city center with the new developing areas around it and with the rest of the country. Through a new underpass, it opens a new connection between the city center and the Pohja neighborhood in the north. The underpass also provides safe access to the train platforms. It also ensures a smooth connection from the station and its services directly to the train. It will be completed in February 2025. The new platform waiting areas and walkways to the platforms will also be completed by the end of February 2025.
The new station is easily accessible by public transport and by car. To encourage people to come to the train station by bike instead of car, bicycle parking with spaces for 700 bicycles is provided. It makes it convenient to leave your bike at the station when taking the train.
For those arriving by bus or taxi, access to the station building is directly from the street level. Long-distance buses depart from the north side of the old station. There is a direct connection between the station platform and the bus station. Local buses stop along Valtionkatu in front of the station.
To free more space on the street level, car parking is arranged in a parking house. The green wall of the parking facility is both aesthetic and functional at once. There are solar panels on the roof of the parking structure. The parking building offers 450 parking spaces. It provides direct access to the family center as well as to the station hall and the Asemapäällikönkatu Street.
Activating the City Center
Building on the existing grid plan, the new master plan introduces a new level of density and brings new energy to the city. With its human scale, it activates this central place in the city without forgetting the individual people who collectively make the city. With its dynamic mix of services, housing, and public spaces, it provides a new interpretation of Seinäjoki as an urban place. The goal is to create an active urban area in the core of the city.
Careful attention is paid to creating a series of open public spaces with an inviting environment for people to gather. The public squares will be complemented with intimate inner courtyards in the residential part of the area. The sheltered and green courtyards will provide a pleasant communal space for the residents to use together.
Trees and greenery along the streets add to the pleasant ambiance of the area. They also serve to signal a slower pace for traffic around the station. This helps improve traffic safety for pedestrians. The surface materials on the square and the courtyards of the residential buildings have been carefully chosen to help the natural absorption of storm water.
There are five works of art in the station area. The art objects are located in the lobby of the family center, the square in front of the family center, on the facades of the parking house, in the entrance connecting the parking house and the family center, and in the underpass.
The masterplan for the new Station Area builds on the study by OOPEAA in collaboration with the Gehl People to develop a vision for the Seinäjoki City Center.