The concept of a harmonious integration between city and nature has re-emerged as a significant architectural aspiration, particularly in the aftermath of mid-20th-century European reconstruction. While many housing developments of the Modern Movement implemented green space through generic urban formulas—such as repetitive blocks or single-family typologies—certain Finnish projects approached the issue with greater sensitivity to landscape. This study examines three paradigmatic cases: Tapiola, Viitaniemi and Korkalorinne, which exemplify an alternative model known as the habitable forest. In these developments, urban form is not imposed on nature but derived from it. Built volumes, roadways and green zones are conceived as part of the larger ecosystem, with landscape acting as a primary structuring agent. Rather than pursuing the abstract ideals of urban form, these projects prioritise creating place-based experiences through spatial fragmentation, ecological layering, and perceptual immersion. The forest is not simply preserved; it is activated as a residential atmosphere. Urban elements are reinterpreted as landscape components, generating a typology where the natural and the artificial cohabit with continuity. Despite differences in site and scale, the projects share a logic of composition based on the site’s physical and cultural memory. A recurring design strategy involves articulating built forms with the terrain and vegetation, using perceptual rules to enhance the sensory relationship between people and place. This results in a hybrid typology that diverges from both the garden city model and the rationalist housing block. Ultimately, these projects offer a third way: a territorial, ecological and scenographic approach to city-making. They reframe architecture as a medium to construct “other nature”—an active, designed, and inhabitable landscape. The insights drawn from these Finnish experiments resonate with current efforts to align urban living with ecological consciousness and territorial cohesion.
Cuéllar Jaramillo, Á. (2017). El bosque habitable. La experiencia de construir ciudad paisaje en Finlandia. PhD thesis, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.
