The Charites offers an excellent opportunity to urban life with a close-by nature connection as well as a marine environment and views. The design is conceived from its site which straddles two different neighborhoods: a vibrant residential area, connected to the sea and a bustling commercial space, metro station and public functions right in the heart of Vuosaari. From an urban perspective, the tower group Charites is based on the existing Cirrus high-rise building and a series of new high-rise development staggering towards the city center of Vuosaari.
The design of the public space is based on diagonal connections through the podium at street level. The transversal routes of the block create an easy-to-navigate environment that promotes encounters between the local residents and creates social cohesion. In the middle of the block, at the intersection of the diagonals, an open space connecting brick-and-mortar shops is formed. The square offers an excellent setting for spending time and spontaneous meetings. In addition, the square is suitable for various public events, and it is bordered by terraces that can be expanded from the commercial space.
The upper floors are based on a group of three towers designed on top of a podium. All three high-rise buildings follow the same volumetric concept, i.e. they use transitional floors to create a recognizable cityscape. The architectural idea of the tallest tower block is based on the overhang of the upper floors, which is merged by transitional floors in the midst of the building. The building proposes a stack of three cubes: the lower and the top one are connected by curved planes to create a subtle alternation of flat and three dimensional planes. The central building of the composition, cut diagonally and thus more triangular at the base, contains a hotel and an office complex. In this high-rise building, the repeated floors are located in the middle of the mass, and above and below it are the transitional floors. The lower and upper parts of the tower block are mirror images of each other, which facilitates the technical and economic feasibility of the building. The housing in the lowest tower is regulated to prevent social segregation and to improve the accessibility of high-rise buildings. The student apartments in the upper part of the building are repeated floors, while the senior apartments in the lower part are the transitional floors.
The courtyard functions of the apartments, office spaces and the hotel are partly located on the podiums and on the semi-public courtyard deck reaching between the towers. The common spaces for residents, office workers and hotel guests are located on the top floors and roofs of the buildings, which also offer open views in all directions. Common spaces can also be found on the deck level. Storage facilities and other secondary facilities are placed on the floors of the parking levels.
The towers are staggered towards the current Cirrus high rise building. At the same time, they mark the future pedestrian center of Vuosaari in the city scape and resonate with each of their neighbors. The shape of the buildings is at the same time highly artistic and highly efficient, a diagram of maximum beauty and maximum rentability, combined in a single shape. Its geometry at the same time reinforces and escapes the existing city.
