You may wonder about the title One Campus. What is the one campus and what does it mean? The title is based on Aalto University’s strategy and its decision to create one main campus in Otaniemi. The Aalto board decided that the main campus will be located in Otaniemi on June 2011. According to the decision, Aalto University Properties Ltd arranged a Campus 2015 architectural competition. The aim was to design a new core for the campus for Aalto University. Väre proposal, designed by the Finnish firm Verstas Architects and its team of architects, Väinö Nikkilä, Jussi Palva, Riina Palva and Ilkka Salminen, won the Campus 2015 architectural design competition in 2013.

One campus is a name for a project that includes Aalto University’s new building plan and construction work of Väre in Otaniemi from end users point of view and School of Art, Design, and Architecture (ARTS) moving to the new building in 2018. Officially, one campus project started the first of September and it will end the 31st of December in 2018 all together 168 weeks. Its aim is to serve end users needs in the new building premises and learning and working environment for Aalto University, especially School of Art, Design, and Architecture.

During the project there will be arranged several workshops that I hope you can join too. It is important that students and personnel are taking part for workshops that will carry out suitable premises for the learning and working environment for Aalto people. Along the project the communication and information is very important and that is also the reason why I am writing this blog. You may follow what is happening during these years. There will be also a shooting camera that is taking pictures of the contraction work of Väre that you can see via this link: http://vare-cam.aalto.fi. Later on there will be also art activities around in Otaniemi that are connected to Väre and presenting ARTS activity in the main campus.

I want to borrow president Tuula Teeri’s opening speech from 2010 in T3 (Otaniemi- Keilaniemi-Tapiola area) meeting of leadership in Karhusaari that included companies from Keilaniemi, Espoo city and Aalto University. Aalto University’s strategy emphasizes interaction and openness towards to the society. Building creates encounters and Aalto University can be seen as a learning center that is working as a window to the surrounding society. There can be arranged art exhibitions, show films and innovations. The aim is that Otaniemi area will get excellence traffic communication and transportation. The wish is that Otaniemi is alive to the students as well as for other ones.

Now the roadmap to achieve this goal is to make the words and plans to become tangible! We still have to wait for a moment that construction work of Väre can start but not too long until end of this year. Civil works on the site will begin during the autumn and construction itself will start next year. I invite you to the road of one campus journey!