Syvälahti Education Centre, Turku Building, Finnish School Building, Architecture Image
Syvälahti Education Centre in Turku, Finland
28 Feb 2020
Syvälahti Education Centre
Design: Verstas Architects
Location: Turku, Finland

Syvälahti Education Centre is a multipurpose building combining a comprehensive school, a day-care centre, a public library, a youth centre and a childcare guidance centre. All are under one twisting roof. The building serves nearly a thousand one to sixteen-year-old pupils. Verstas Architects designed a plan that reflects the new Finnish curriculum highlighting shared and multidisciplinary learning.

The education centre is on the island of Hirvensalo in the city of Turku, the old capital of Finland in the southwest. The building mass is incorporated into the hilly surroundings of the island to form comfortable, sheltered school yards opening towards pleasant views and sun. Large clear-cut windows give rhythm to the heavy, twisting masonry of the facades and wide openings near the entrances provide views to the surroundings. Timeless reddish-brown brickwork gives warmth and a sense of handicraft to the building thus rendering it with a monolithic, recognizable appearance and rooting it to the place.
The public services are located near the main entrance of the school and the day-care centre. The main space of the building, the school dining hall, is open for all users. It is surrounded by arts and music studios as well as wood, metal, textile and ...