ASUTUT researcher Sini Saarimaa participated in the multidisciplinary Finnish Conference of Environmental Sciences, that took place on the 10.-11.12.2019 in Mikkeli. The theme of the conference was the topical Circular Economy and Sustainable Growth. The conference brought together scholars from numerous disciplines, from natural to social sciences, and it included a variety of topics from research on road transport to invasive species and for example various technologies for environmental remediation and toxicity measurement. Researchers, academics, scholars, and other attendees of the conference enjoyed the various perspectives of research presentations, poster sessions, motivational keynote speakers and well-organized dinner celebrations.
The growing understanding of the limited raw materials has shifted the perspective, also in the context of buildings, towards the use of renewable and recycled materials and extending buildings’ life cycles. Hence, the link between circularity and Saarimaa’s research topic, idea of spatial adaptability (i.e. physical space accommodating changing conditions over time) is widely acknowledged. Saarimaa introduced a qualitative way to assess an apartment’s adaptation potential. Also, she demonstrated the model in the context of Finnish apartment buildings and presented their capacity to accommodate dweller-driven changes. Saarimaa’s presentation underlined, that there are lessons to be learned from our existing housing stock for future developments. For example, the increased efficiency of 21st century’s Finnish apartment buildings (e.g. deeper building frames, lower degree of natural light, etc.) leads to lower ability to accommodate spatial changes unless specific design considerations are taken into account. On the other hand, for example, a structure consisting of load-bearing walls is not an obstacle to adaptability, if other design considerations are included. For this reason, the title of the presentation highlighted that it is wise to look back to see forward: to make wise decisions for the future, we need to know better the performance of the existing built environment. Katja Maununaho talks about how communal living can break the bubbles of loneliness - multipurpose communal spaces can give support in getting to know others. Listen to it here (in Finnish)
ASUTUT researchers Tapio Kaasalainen and Taru Lehtinen with colleagues from TAU Civil Engineering and Tampere University of Applied Sciences have published a new paper titled ‘Architectural window design and energy efficiency: Impacts on heating, cooling and lighting needs in Finnish climates’ in the Journal of Building Engineering. The presented research explores the energy use effect that various window related design decisions have, alone and combined with each other, highlighting the importance of a holistic design approach. The paper is freely available until December 17th 2019 from the following address:
https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Zzdu8MyS8uOk~. The University awarded €20,000 seed funding related to Sustainable Welfare Systems to support our interdisciplinary collaborative research project looking at ways to reimagine social futures for independent living for the ageing population in the Nordic countries.
ASUTUT are a small, yet fundamental part of the interdisciplinary team in which we provide expertise in elderly housing design aspects, and are co-developing the research project with Tampere University colleagues in solar cells technology, social psychological field study, and nursing studies, and others outside of TAU. The seed funding is in support of developing larger funding bids and to support our interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as establishing collaborations with other Nordic experts in this area. So watch this space! Please come and join us! https://www.atut.fi/asutut We invite ATUT delegates, and others, to a pre-symposium conversation about recently finished and ongoing research projects related to aspects of sustainable housing design and architecture. This will take place on the afternoon of October 2nd, starting at 2pm promptly. Venue: Kampusklubi Workshop-center (in KampusAreena; take lifts to 5th floor, between 13.45 to 14:15pm, to private members area.*) Following projects will be presented: 14:00 - 14.25 KARKIT Project and its Approach to Affordable Housing - Jyrki Tarpio 14:30 - 14:55 Architectural Design and Energy Efficiency – Findings from the COMBI Project - Tapio Kaasalainen 15:00 - 15:25 A Cookbook for Agile Housing - An Application Developed in Multidisciplinary DAC (Dwellers in Agile Cities) Research Project - Jyrki Tarpio 15:30 - 15:55 Nordic Sustainable Architecture by transnational researchers Elizabeth Donovan and Ula Kozminska (Aarhus school of Architecture, Denmark), with Sofie Pelsmakers (Tampere University, Finland) 16:00 - 16:25 Urban Nature in the Finnish Context - Laura Uimonen The conversation will be followed by an Urban Nature Walk guided by Laura Uimonen, starting no later than 16:45 (unless weather events prevent us). * if any access issues to the top floor on KampusAarena, please text Sofie Pelsmakers on +358 (0) 50 4478491 Collaborative research project DAC (Dwellers in Agile Cities) was awarded Tampere University Societal Impact award in September 2019. ASUTUT researchers Jyrki Tarpio and Katja Maununaho were involved. See more here.
Read here about our Reflections on sustainable Nordic architecture - published in Passivhouse plus magazine, by ASUTUT Chair Sofie Pelsmakers and Ula Kozminska and Liz Donovan, members of transnational research group 'Nordic Sustainable Architecture' published June 2019
Come study with us! An International Masters Programme in Sustainable Architecture at Tampere University in Finland. On 23rd April, (13:00-16:00), Dr Jyrki Tarpio will present the Agile Living Cookbook web-application. It is a freely available idea and data bank that serves the design and development of urban modern living (in Finnish). The Agile Living Cookbook aims to capture what the ways are to produce urban solutions that respond to different needs and enable residents to participate.
Location: Music Center, Terassilämpiö, Mannerheimintie 13 A, Helsinki Sign up here and download the program here. Further information: jyrki.tarpio@tuni.fi On Tuesday 14.05 (10.00-17:30) DAC researchers (Dwellers in agile cities) welcome you to the project's ending conference "Sustainable Urbanization - bridging development and growth, research funded by the Academy of Finland.
Location: Aalto University, Main Building Dipoli, Auditorium, Helsinki See the full program here (pdf) and for registration here Taru Lehtinen has been invited to hold an interactive workshop on "Architectural spatial design solutions for sustainability" at the SBE19 Sustainable Built Environment conference, Helsinki, Finland, 23.5.2019 (15:30pm). She will be joined by Dr Sofie Pelsmakers.
See you there! The ASUTUT - Sustainable Housing Design team invite ATUT delegates to a pre-symposium conversation about the team's recently finished projects related to aspects of sustainable housing design and architecture. This will take place on the afternoon of October 2nd, o the day before the main ATUT symposium. Venue to be confirmed. Following projects will be presented and discussed:
We are glad to announce the Call for Papers for the 11th Annual Symposium of Architectural Research in Finland to be held from 3–4 October 2019 at Tampere, Finland.
Researchers, students and practitioners, with diverse backgrounds, are kindly invited to join the event and submit papers related to this year’s theme: Architecture and City as a Home. Participation without a presentation or a paper submission is also possible. Languages of the symposium are English, Finnish, and Swedish. Paper deadline is after the conference (30th Nov) (5000 – 8000 words). The submitted manuscripts will be reviewed by selected reviewers in a double-blind process. Manuscripts accepted in the review process will be published in the online journal Architectural Research in Finland (ARF) using the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies’ Open Journal System (OJS) publishing platform. The deadline for the submission of abstracts is 18 April 2019. Abstracts should have 300 words maximum and include a title, a brief description of the proposed work, methods and discussion, and keywords to identify the area of research. Please entitle the document ‘Abstract AuthorSurname’ and use MS Word or some other editable format. Please submit your abstract via email to atut2019.tau@tuni.fi ATUT 2019 web pages are at www.atut.fi Hope to see you in October! From the Scientific Conference Committee (ASUTUT Sustainable Housing Design researchers are part of the scientific and organising committee). |