The digital twin of Helsinki streamlines construction

The City of Helsinki’s data sources have been collected into a single entity, the City’s digital twin. It includes a three-dimensional virtual city model that shows how the new buildings and parks would look from different angles and at different times of the day, for example. The digital twin and construction are mutually supportive.

“The digital twin can even reduce complaints during the construction phase, if the plans can be presented to residents online in a clear, three-dimensional format,” said City Geodesist Tiina Talvitie from the City of Helsinki at Forum Virium’s Open Forum event in late November.

The digital twin enables a new kind of collaboration in urban planning and supports the coordination of large construction projects. Architects, planners and constructors can use the common platform to work on and schedule projects, such as construction projects, very efficiently. At its best, the digital twin can provide a four-dimensional picture of a city as it evolves over time, simulating things such as the way a residential area and its parks change over the years. In such cases, the digital twin will provide a combined view of the future of the urban environment.

The digital twin of Helsinki is known around the world

The ability to utilise the digital twin says a lot about the level of the City’s smart city development. The digital twin of Helsinki is appreciated around the world. In fact, the City’s materials have been widely used for research purposes. The City’s objective is to produce data that is actually used and processed for decision-making. However, technical and data-driven solutions are useless if they do not improve the lives of residents. 

In Helsinki, data is already being used to provide services proactively. 

“For example, families are now notified of their child’s admission to pre-primary education by text message within a minute. In the past, this process took two months. Data was also used during the COVID-19 crisis to optimise the response of City employees,” said Head of Information Management Tomas Lehtinen from the City of Helsinki at the Open Forum event.