Architect:
Kari Virta Architects
Eino Leinonen, Kari Palaste, Kari Virta, Urmas Virta
Client and Project Management
at the Design
and Initial Construction Stage:
National Board of Public Building
Client at the Final Construction
Stage:
State Real Property Authority
Construction Management
at the Final Construction Stage:
Engel Construction Management Services Ltd
Structural Design:
JP-Kakko
HEPAC- and electrical design:
JP-Talotekniikka Oy
Landscape Design:
Ympäristötoimisto Oy - Miljöbyrån Ab
Electric Contractor:
Are Oy
Plumbing Contractor:
Lähiputki Oy
The plan of the Department of Chemistry building is based on the winning entry to an invited architectural competition in 1988. The spacious main hall is linked to the square by a large glazed wall and main entry. The high colmns and the curve-shaped auditorium near the water basin form the main composition, which differs from the architecture of the rest of the area and thus emphasizes the urban character of the second main square of the campus area.
The huge building is divided longitudinally into smaller units connected to each other by class-enclosed corridor bridges. The facades are very three-dimensional, the aim being a counterbalance of verticality and horizontality.