- PlaceTampere
- Completion 1990
- Decade1990s
- PeriodThe changing welfare society
- Year of selection2023
In 1990, the City of Tampere organized the last housing fair on the back of the economic boom. The grounds of the fair were linked to the Puu-Tammela residential area, built from the 1920s onwards and with infill building during the 1960s. Two years earlier, an open architectural competition had been organised for the overall appearance of the grounds of the housing fair, which was won by architect Jukka Linko. The winning proposal was not implemented as such, but ideas proposed by the prize-winning entries were used in the town planning of the area.
The most unique of the housing fair buildings was Finland’s first steel-framed, distinctly Constructivist-influenced apartment building, designed by Arkkitehtitoimisto 8 Studio under the leadership of architect Mikko Kaira. The architects’ office, founded in Tampere in 1985, had several successes in architectural competitions and contributed significantly to the development of Finnish architecture. Terästammi also aimed for a qualitatively and structurally new type of high-rise living: it comprises of only ten flats, each generous in size, four of which are two-storeys, with elegant two-storey living rooms and impressive interior views. The almost detached-house quality of the dwellings was also highlighted by their placement: there are no wall-to-wall neighbours, as the stairwell penetrating the building also bisects it, and the windows of each flat face three or even four directions.
The exterior architecture of the building stands out as a composition of strong steel structures and various metal surfaces. Steel was even used in the interiors of the flats, for example, in the finely corrugated metal suspended ceilings. The overall technical look combines the playfulness and diversity of the postmodern expression of the era, especially in the details, and the building was carefully designed at all scales. For example, the colourful lift car and buttons of the spectacular glass lift and even the placement of the lift manufacturer’s name were all individually designed.
The building also attracted attention beyond the housing fair: architect Mikko Kaira and engineer Esko Rautakorpi received the Steel Structure of the Year award, and in 1991 the building received the European Award of Steel Construction. It was believed that steel construction would diversify housing production, but a severe economic recession hit Finland soon after the housing fair, and construction activity quickly waned. At the same time, Terästammi’s structural and residential architecture experiments were forgotten, and it took a long time to sell the large apartments. Apart from a few other pioneering projects that followed afterwards, steel-construction apartment buildings have remained an exception.
The landmark – in many ways both elitist and futuristic and yet now finding itself in the current urban structure awkwardly placed on the edge of traffic routes, a petrol station and a residential area – became a special manifestation of the time of its birth. Still, the present residents feel a special ownership of their unique home.
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