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2019 · Society · Municipality of Sipoo

Heritage of Sipoo — Typomorphology Map

An interactive map classifying every listed building in Nikkilä by historical period, road age, and heritage value — turning a built-heritage survey into a public, filterable tool rather than a static report.

Heritage of Sipoo — Typomorphology Map

Before Sipoo’s town centre of Nikkilä could make informed decisions about its built heritage, it needed a clear, evidence-based picture of what it actually had — not just a list, but an understanding of how the settlement grew and which parts of it matter most.

Commissioned by the Municipality of Sipoo as a built-heritage survey of Nikkilä, delivered by SPIN Unit Lab in cooperation with heritage-data partner Livady. This was the first of what became a three-phase engagement, continuing into building-selection refinement and a colour analysis phase in 2020.

99 listed buildings were classified into four historical phases reflecting Nikkilä’s actual growth — from rural church village (1400–1850), through railway-driven expansion (1850–1914), around the former Nikkilä Hospital/Asylum (1914–1980), to the present — cross-referenced with road construction era (1840/1900/1920/1990) and an A/B/C heritage value grade. The result was published as a filterable interactive map (built on CARTO), rather than a static report.

Delivered as a live, public-facing dashboard letting users filter Nikkilä’s building stock by period, road age, and conservation value.

About the project
ClientMunicipality of Sipoo
PlaceNikkilä, Sipoo, Finland
Year2019
LensSociety
TopicsHeritage, Interactive Mapping, Typomorphology
What we found
63 of 99 listed buildings fall into the “village to municipal centre” phase — the largest single category, and most of Nikkilä’s street network dates from the 1920s.
The classification is historically specific to Nikkilä’s own growth path, not a generic template — including a phase built explicitly around the former Nikkilä psychiatric hospital, a defining feature of the town’s development.
Delivered as an interactive, filterable public tool rather than a static PDF — letting residents and planners explore the heritage stock themselves.

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