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Alvar Aalto's Otaniemi campus

Aalto University

Alvar Aalto designed the key buildings of the Otaniemi campus, including the main building and the library, and the campus is listed as national cultural heritage of Finland.

  • 4Buildings
  • 2Traditions
  • 1965Oldest · Aalto University Undergraduate Center
  • 2018Newest · Väre

Planning the visit

  • Fly intoHelsinki Airport (HEL)

    Helsinki Airport is Finland's main international airport. From central Helsinki, the metro runs west to Aalto University station in Otaniemi.

  • Getting aroundMetro / Walking

    Aalto University metro station sits right in the middle of campus, connected to the Väre building. Light rail line 15 also stops at the Korkeakouluaukio square.

  • Colors and teams

    Espoo is officially bilingual, so signs appear in Finnish and Swedish (Otaniemi is Otnäs in Swedish). Much of the university's teaching is in English.

4 buildings to stamp

  1. Aalto University Undergraduate Center
    Photo: Markus Säynevirta, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Aalto University Undergraduate Center

    Otakaari 1, Espoo

    Alvar Aalto designed this as the main building of the Helsinki University of Technology. The first part was completed in 1965 and the extension with the major auditoriums followed in 1975.

    Built
    1965
    Architect
    Alvar Aalto
    Style
    Modernist
    Today
    Aalto University Undergraduate Center
  2. Dipoli
    Photo: J-P Kärnä, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Dipoli

    Otakaari 24, Espoo

    Reima and Raili Pietilä's Dipoli is a celebrated work of expressionist modernism, opened in 1966. Built for the Helsinki University of Technology's Student Union, it was sold to Aalto University in 2014.

    Built
    1966
    Architect
    Reima Pietilä and Raili Pietilä
    Style
    Expressionist Modern
    Today
    Aalto University building
  3. Väre
    Photo: Markus Säynevirta, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Väre

    Korkeakouluaukio, Otaniemi, Espoo

    Home of the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Väre won its design contest in 2013 and opened in 2018 with a metro station beneath it. It was one of Finland's nominees for the EU Mies van der Rohe Award in 2019.

    Built
    2018
    Architect
    Verstas Arkkitehdit
    Style
    Contemporary
    Today
    School of Arts, Design and Architecture

  4. Harald Herlin Learning Centre

    Otaniementie 9, Espoo

    The campus library is another Alvar Aalto design, a four-storey building completed in 1969. Renovated from 2015, it is now the Harald Herlin Learning Centre.

    Built
    1969
    Architect
    Alvar Aalto
    Style
    Modernist
    Stories
    4
    Today
    Learning centre and library

2 traditions to check off

Stamped! keeps these as a checklist, so you can tick each one off on the visit.

  • Museum of Student Life

    In a basement in the Otaniemi student village, the student union's museum (formerly the Polyteekkarimuseo) shows teekkari and other Aalto student traditions, from caps and overalls to famous pranks. Volunteer guides open it to visitors on Sunday afternoons during term.

  • Otaniemi Chapel Forest View

    Heikki and Kaija Siren's 1956 campus chapel has a glass wall behind the altar that looks onto the forest and a cross set into the bedrock outside. The university lists the view as one of the most popular sights in Otaniemi.

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