MVRDV is one of five teams in the "New Eliel" invited competition to redesign the area of Elielinaukio Square and Asema-aukio Square in Helsinki, Finland. The project aims to turn the area – which sits directly adjacent to the city's celebrated Eliel Saarinen-designed Central Station – from a noisy bypass and an inefficient public transport hub into an attractive business centre with plenty of cycle- and pedestrian-friendly public space.

The winning project will become part of a larger renewal of the surroundings of the Helsinki Central Railway Station, creating a new urban area in the city centre with a wide range of services for both residents and tourists, as well as numerous jobs in close proximity to public transit. The invited competition was organised in order to ensure high-quality proposals. One of the criteria considered in the prequalification stage was the balance between international and domestic know-how within the teams.

All five teams have now submitted their designs, which are available to review on the New Eliel competition website. Residents are also able to comment on the competition entries using Helsinki's ‘Voice your opinion’ service until 4 April 2021. In order to keep the feedback and judging process fair and impartial, the designs are presented anonymously.

The five teams presenting designs in the competition are:

1. MVRDV with PES-Architects, SLA Copenhagen, and Sweco Finland
2. Snøhetta with Architects Davidsson Tarkela and WSP Finland & UK
3. JKMM Architects with Nomaji Landscape Architects, WSP Finland, and Demos Helsinki
4. Anttinen Oiva Architects with Hellon, Retail Flow Finland, MASU Planning, Sweco Finland, Granlund, and WSP Finland
5. Cederqvist & Jäntti Architects and K2S Architects with Amerikka Design Office, Boxxed and Ramboll Finland

Note: in order to preserve the integrity of the competition, this article's main image shows entries from all five teams.