Creating Community Spaces for Young and Old (Group Work)
The task of Project Kolmio was to create a community centre which could connect the different generations living in the heart of the densely populated suburbia of Hervanta in the city of Tampere, Finland. The site is currently an underdeveloped parking lot situated between a group of apartment blocks from the 1970s. The demographic of the site is very mixed with many local university students, families and elderly living together in the neighbourhood who all desire a place to come together.
To fulfil this goal of connecting people and creating a hub for the local community, the proposed building provides a range of different functions, such as societal, educational, and leisure spaces. These spaces are located in three individual blocks that are all centrally connected through an open lobby in the middle of the building. However, the functions are laid out in a way that allows for a good separation between spaces with different sensory qualities instead of the traditional way of only sorting by the main functional categories.
To ensure that the building is approachable from multiple directions, the three blocks are sloped towards the ends of the site and are rotated outwards from the central lobby. This rotation allows the building to be entered from three main directions and even from two separate levels. It also creates multiple individualised outdoor spaces that are open and inviting for everyone who passes by.
Structurally the building uses a custom timber structure with Glulam beams and columns and CLT Floors which can translate the building loads towards the three concrete cores that also act as the main escape routes in case of an emergency. Furthermore, the building provides protected shelter for the population on Level 0 which is required by local building regulations.
The most eye-catching feature of the building is its double facade, which consists of the simple inner layer with thick insulation for the cold winter climate, standard curtain walling for enough natural daylight and a simple timber rainscreen cladding. While the outer layer gives the building its appearance using thin perforated copper sheets that allow light to shine through, mixed with timber battens, open spaces and a distinct pattern that runs along the facade which is derived from the different angles and slopes present in the building and also represent the rock formations that were once present on the site and that are common in Finnish nature.
