Tampere University of Applied Sciences’ campus located at the corner of Teiskontie and Kuntokatu turns 60 years. After the building was finished in 1961, it was occupied by Tampere Technical College. The technical college had less than 2,000 engineering students while the present-day multidisciplinary TAMK has more than 10,000 students. The buildings have about 47,000 m2 of floor area which equals to a couple of hockey arenas.
The buildings have details from six decades, which tells that we have always adapted to the demands of the era. The present-day campus area is a unique combination of history and future. During the quiet pandemic year, it was possible to observe the environment with new eyes and find oneself at the crossroads of the past and future.
There are serious-looking men on the third-floor wall. They are construction engineering teaching staff from the past years. When you open the connecting door, there is a brand-new learning lab open for all students.
The present-day TAMK staff have seen elegant campuses around Finland, Europe and worldwide. TAMK’s home base may be quite modest but the inside is more important. If the walls were able to speak, they would have quite a history to tell, 60 years of Finnish professional education: everyday life, celebration, brave experiments, new innovations, lectures, assignments, examinations, tens of thousands of completed degrees and as many stories.
TAMK staff love to talk about community spirit. It is a value typical of TAMK which can also be found in the university of applied sciences’ strategy. In everyday life, the community spirit is above all realised when people meet one another and work together. I wonder what this virtual-digital era will leave behind in the TAMK community. People have wanted to return to the campus and we will return there as soon as possible. The campus is an important base, it gathers students, staff and partners together and they form the community.
The university of applied sciences needs its campus in the future, too. Campus development visions reach to 2030 and beyond. The keyword is co-development. Our success in building the community spirit, functionality, safety and general wellbeing significantly affects study and work motivation. In ten years, TAMK staff will maybe celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the campus and tell each other stories about how wise decisions people made those days.
Did you know that …
After the main auditorium of the campus was finished, it was for a long time one of the largest auditoria in Tampere with its over 600 places. It was for example used as a movie theatre and concert hall.
Ramones, Konsta Jylhä ja Kaustisen pelimannit, Hurriganes, Mud, Eva Dahlgren, Eppu Normaali, Dr. Feelgood, Peer Günt, Wigwam, Vesa-Matti Loiri, Hanoi Rocks, Hassisen kone, Tabula Rasa, Sleepy Sleepers, Stevie Ray Vaughan and many other stars had a concert there in the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Text: Leena Stenman, Producer, Internal Communications
Photos: Leena Stenman, Essi Kannelkoski
Reading:
Suvi Nenonen, Sami Kärnä, Juha-Matti Junnonen, Sari Tähtinen, Niclas Sandström (ed.): Oppiva kampus – How to co-create campus? Suomen Yliopistokiinteistöt Oy. 2015.
