Verstas Architects wins Campus 2015 Architectural design competition of Aalto University core Campus in Espoo, Finland
Helsinki-based architecture office Verstas Architects has won the open international architectural competition to design the new core campus for Aalto University in Otaniemi, Espoo.
The aim of the Campus 2015 competition was to design a 47 000 m² extension to the Otaniemi campus, originally designed by architect Alvar Aalto. Verstas Architects’s winning entry “Väre“, designed by architects Väinö Nikkilä, Jussi Palva, Riina Palva and Ilkka Salminen, creates a new plaza in the heart of the Otaniemi campus. The plaza, surrounded by the central buildings of the original campus and the new facilities – the Aalto ARTS building, metro station and commercial services, will be the central meeting point of the new Aalto Campus.
The jury describes the winner Väre as a strong and convincing entry. The layout is based on a pattern utilizing two principal coordinates taken from the neighboring former Main Building and Library of the Helsinki University of Technology, both designed by Alvar Aalto. The structural DNA matrix of the layout is used as the organizing principle for the new buildings.Clad in red brick and printed glass, the new building’s distinct recognizable figure complements the original Alvar Aalto campus. The subtle twisting of the facades adapts the large building volume easily to the scale of its surroundings. The functions of the building exposed to the campus centre manifest the goals of the Aalto university: ambition, high-quality, internationality and communality.
According to the jury, the winner’s approach is fresh: the simple basic module produces a convincing variety of spatial arrangements, adaptable, flexible but with a clear and distinct architectural character. The spatial concept has also found a fitting form, in which users move from the general public areas upwards towards more private and intimate places or from interdisciplinary to more specialized activities, a mode of operation completely in tune with the expressed aims of the University.Aalto University is a new university, yet we have a strong history in Otaniemi. The winning entry reflects well our values and respects the existing environment while has a clear vision of how the future university looks like, says President Tuula Teeri from Aalto University.
The two-phase international competition was arranged by Aalto University Properties Ltd. The first phase attracted 189 entries, of which a significant amount from abroad. Six of these were chosen for the second phase, the goal of which was to create a unique solution and a highly usable learning environment for the new building and its immediate surroundings. High quality of architecture as well as cost efficiency and ecological sustainability were among the assessment criteria.
I am pleased to say that the quality of the competition was very high. We hoped for designs that inspire studying and working at the area. The jury expects Verstas Architects’ winning entry to set a new standard for future university learning environments, not only in Finland but also within the international arena, explains Dean Helena Hyvönen, chairperson of the competition jury.
VERSTAS Architects is also renowned for the award-winning Kirkkojärvi and Saunalahti schools in Espoo. The office is currently working on Hirvensalo school in Turku, and Töölönlahti 2018 apartment and office block currently under construction in Helsinki city centre.
