[5] Under von Hertzen's leadership, the Housing Foundation bought 660 acres (267 ha) of forest land, six miles (9.65km) from the centre of Helsinki, and set out to create an ideal garden city.

[9][incomplete short citation] The role of the Housing Foundation included financing the project and overseeing the planning and building process so as to ensure consistency within different areas of the town.

[11] Von Hertzen set out to create a modern urban environment that would address the housing shortage in Helsinki while also being economically viable and beautiful.

[10] In 1946 von Hertzen explained his thoughts about urban planning in his pamphlet Koti vaiko kasarmi lapsillemme ("A home or a barracks for our children?

[6] Tapiola is a result of close teamwork in the fields of architecture, sociology, civil engineering, landscape gardening, domestic science, and youth welfare.

The winning name, which in Finnish means the home of the Tapio, the forest god from the Kalevala, was suggested by eleven different people.

The founder of Tapiola, Heikki von Hertzen, believed that it was not possible to create a satisfactory residential centre if the population density exceeded a certain figure.

[14] The ground was divided into four neighbourhood units, separated by green belts, and in the middle was built a main shopping and cultural centre to meet the needs of 30,000 inhabitants (including those of surrounding districts) (Hertzen 1959).

[13] The architects commissioned to plan Tapiola had also been influenced by Le Corbusier[2] and other proponents of Modernism, and thus their urban ideals also included tower blocks forming impressive silhouettes, as well as a dense method of building.

[13] The various residential units which made up Tapiola comprise multi-storey blocks and individual homes, either detached or in rows, introducing a note of variety in the neighbourhood and allowing for the mixing of residents.

[14] Combining the architecture of modernism and the ideology of the garden city movement is credited for the huge interest in Tapiola's planning history.

[13] Architects Aarne Ervi, Viljo Revell, Aulis Blomstedt and Markus Tavio were charged with designing the eastern neighbourhood based on Meurman's plan.

[12] Thus planning in Tapiola was collaborative and proactive as it involved targeting specific family types and classes, deciding on an ideal lifestyle for these residents, which accordingly influenced their behaviours.

[6] Meurman resigned from the board of governors of the Housing Foundation in 1954 following a shift from developing a town with low population density (six persons per acre) and low-rise buildings dwellings, as advocated by Meurman, to more multi-storey buildings and a higher population density (30 persons per acre) as recommended by other architects and the Housing Foundation.

[11] The development of the eastern neighbourhood led to the implementation of important planning principles such as providing facilities that encourage interaction and foster a sense of community as well as the separation of vehicles and pedestrians.

[10] The eastern and western residential areas of Tapiola featured curved streets of varying sizes and positions, whilst the northern neighbourhood designed by architect Pentti Ahola, marked a return to the orthogonal grid plan.

[6] Ahola's design however, reflected the original aims of Tapiola; that of encouraging social diversification by locating a variety of building types within the one area.

[12] As with the other areas of Tapiola, the centre was designed with consideration for the site's features and terrain as well as to provide an active and versatile environment for pedestrians.

[12] Roads surrounded the central area producing a modern design completely separate from vehicles and featuring a special route for pedestrians and cyclists only (Tapionraitti).

[11] Ervi ensured the centre preserved the garden-city character of Tapiola by locating the buildings around an artificial lake, however this plan was considered strange and criticised for its lack of density.

In the Tuulimäki defense shelter there are premises for wrestling, judo, shooting (air guns and archery), table tennis, gymnastics and fencing.

In autumn 2005, the highest wooden office building in Europe, called the Modular-office, was built in southern Tapiola by next to the Länsiväylä highway.