Cave as Experimental Lab to 2050 
(2020)
Transition design concept

Team:
Paula Ikonen, Hsin-Yun Lai, Sumi Moon, Delphine Rumo & Mónica Seppänen


In 2050, Lohja's city has developed into a resilient nature-based urban area driven by inclusive political imagination. Citizens have developed non-exploitative relationships with nature through knowledge in alternative farming methods and gardening and they understand sustainability as a systemic and dynamic challenge.

POLITICAL SYSTEMS
In 2050, Lohja’s political power is decentralised which creates a sense of empowerment at all levels of society. The municipality supports active citizenship, creating a political support system based on ongoing discussions and debates about collaborative governance. The old limestone caves are accessible to the public and Lohja's City Hall is experimenting with moving some of their activities to the caves. All suggestions about future uses of the cave have been revised by Lohja’s citizens. Politics enhances cooperation with residents and local businesses, building trustworthy relationships between parties. The municipality prompts regional resilience, with a preventative mindset and the openness for adaptability and creativity. 

ECONOMIC SYSTEMS
I arrive in Lohja by train, then follow the green trail through the city to find the entrance of the old caves and descend my way through their tunnels using a staircase which was built after Nordkalk, the old mine owner of the cave, stopped its economic activities in 2030. Since then limestone at the breakfast table has been replaced with plant-based materials and extractivist activities of nonrenewable resources (e.g. limestone) with harvestable ones (e.g. plant-based). After the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, the municipality of Lohja has seen an unprecedented willingness to use tax money and government resources to preserve local businesses supporting sustainability transitions. As a result, during the 2030 closure of mining activities, mineworkers transitioned toward more sustainable aboveground and underground work activities.

Lohja supports the production and consumption of local resources and businesses are neighbourhood-based, contributing to the community. In Lohja, economic activities promote the sharing of services and the regeneration of goods. This means that instead of ownership, citizens prefer sharing, swapping and renting of goods and services. In this landscape, the caves have become a place for exchange. The municipality supports businesses which fit into sustainable or community values by offering rent-free offices in the caves. Overall, interactions between the municipality, businesses and residents has been a key for the successful use of the caves and the development of Lohja as a carbon-zero and sustainable city in 2050.

FOOD SYSTEMS
In one of the first tunnels of the caves, I meet Aino, who lives in Lohja and works at the oyster-mushroom farm located a few floors below. Her background is in biochemistry, she moved to Lohja when her daughter was 2 years old. Then, Aino started working on an experimental mushroom farming system located in the caves. Aino explains to me how after the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, Lohja had been increasingly interested in self-sufficient models of food and energy production. Because citizens already had knowledge and interest in farming and gardening, the municipality changed the caves into an experimental lab and opened up the tunnels for experiments and workshops tackling ideas of permaculture and other alternative underground food production methods working within 90% humidity and 8-10 degree celsius. In response to exploitative conventional farming practices, the city of Lohja decided to promote local, zero-waste, farm-to-fork (or farm-to-school) food production. Aino and I arrive at the level of the mushroom farm, she is excited to show me the new harvest, half will be used for cooking, the other half will be exposed to sunlight to produce vitamin D for the whole of Finland.

ENERGY SYSTEMS
Taking another tunnel, Aino and I pass in front of the geothermal energy power plant operated by Q-Heat which started in 2025 which provides heating energy to the whole city of Lohja. She explains to me how the city is powered by renewable energy, including community micro-grid solar and wind energy systems which have empowered all citizens to be active in the production of energy. Overall, Lohja has decreased its demand for energy as people tend to stay closer to their homes and workplaces. Citizens also live in smaller homes, as the main services and public activities take place in the caves. The remaining limestone of the caves has provided a small start-up with enough resources to develop limestone powered batteries for powering solar and wind energy.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING SYSTEMS
Going through the tunnels of the cave, Aino and I pass through the 'Carrot Kitchen' area, where kids try out their cooking skills with their parents, using food harvested from above and underground. Through the public use of the caves, Lohja’s municipality supports collaborative knowledge-production, promoting peer-to-peer education through seminars and workshops. Further down, we pass the large cave area, where a group is currently taking a walking meditation session led by a local resident and former mine worker. Around them hang pieces of art and limestone walls covered in chalk graffiti made by a local youth organisation.

Aino is proud to be living in Lohja, she feels part of an inclusive community and has a purposeful job close to where she lives. She has good mental and physical health, participates in public activities and enjoys her free time walking above and underground. Because Lohja is an age-friendly city, Aino will be able to live a decent life (e.g. infrastructure and services) as she grows older. The caves will support her wellbeing and active lifestyle, making her ready for any pandemic to come. Aino wouldn't want to live anywhere else than in Lohja.