ArchShowcase Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Aalto University Main Building in Espoo, Finland by ALA ArchitectsJanuary 3rd, 2018 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: ALA Architects Dipoli, the listed iconic and experimental student union building of Helsinki University of Technology designed by Raili and Reima Pietilä and completed in 1966 has gone through a complete renovation and gotten a new life as the main building of Aalto University. The building reopened for fall semester 2017.
Dipoli will function as a meeting place for the university administration, the academic community, the students and other stake holders. All of these parties have been activated in the spatial re-design process that turned the building into a sustainable, flexible workspace of the future. In addition to housing the administration, Dipoli will also continue to function as the prime location for important lecture events and university festivities, as well as act as a display platform for the university’s research and design projects. Dipoli’s restaurants, cafeterias and bar cater for both students and staff members. Dipoli is Aalto University’s test lab for flexible working methods and mobile work. Two hundred of the university’s administrative employees will use the building as their base. The design team’s aim was to re-radicalize Dipoli by creating a fresh, open and dynamic user experience, not forgetting the original designers’ vision. The building, located on the edge of the Alvar Aalto designed Otaniemi campus, is the result of an architectural competition organized in 1961, where the Pietiläs’ entry was originally awarded shared 2nd prize and later selected as the winner of the second competition organized between the two 2nd prize winners. The renovation was part of the larger campus reorganization project linked to the former Helsinki University of Technology campus becoming the main campus of Aalto University, born out of the merger of three Helsinki area universities. Prior to the renovation Dipoli functioned as a conference center for a period of 20 years. ALA Architects ALA Architects specializes in demanding cultural buildings, terminal design and unique renovation projects. The Helsinki–based firm was founded in 2005 by four partners: Juho Grönholm, Antti Nousjoki, Janne Teräsvirta and Samuli Woolston. Their collaboration started in 2004 through success in architectural competitions. The 1st prize in the open international competition for the new theater and concert hall, Kilden Performing Arts Centre, in Kristiansand, Norway in 2005 granted them their first commission. ALA’s most recent completed projects are the new City Theatre in Lappeenranta, Finland, as well as the Aalto University and Keilaniemi metro stations and the renovation of the Dipoli Student Centre and its repurposing as the main building of Aalto University, all in Espoo, Finland. ALA is currently working on such projects as the expansion of the Helsinki Airport, the Helsinki Central Library, a parking facility in Helsinki, three more subway stations along the second phase of the western extension of the Helsinki Metro, a new Courtyard by Marriott hotel in Tampere, Finland, and the renovation of the Finnish Embassy in New Delhi. Share this:RelatedContact ALA Architects
Categories: Auditorium, Autocad, Bar, Conference Center, Offices, Restaurant, space, University Building This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 3rd, 2018 at 6:47 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. |