Silta campus serves as uniform education path for two schools
The City of Tampere’s municipal enterprise Tilakeskus and the City of Nokia joined forces at Nokia’s Silta campus, which houses both general upper secondary and vocational college students. The new campus has already inspired young applicants to embark on a learning path.
In operation since autumn 2022, the Silta campus is part of a project shared by Tampere Vocational College (Tredu), Tampere University of Applied Sciences and the City of Nokia, aiming to create a shared operating culture to support young people with school. The project’s main contractor was YIT with its competition entry Iron Sky.
‘The ideas behind the entry and its entire approach attracted the client’s attention as we had hoped, and we were able to create a workplace and a campus perfect for its intended use,’ Senior Overseer Ari Jokinen from YIT says with a satisfied note in his voice. The campus has around 100 employees, and the area brings together roughly 500 general upper secondary students and 700 students from Tredu.
The project took advantage of a French contract model, in which the costs are already determined during procurement. YIT’s detailed design guidance paid off, and the campus was completed within the budget and schedule for the new students to begin their studies. ‘It took time, effort and expertise from the entire team, and the whole process was a highly collaborative one,’ Jokinen says. One of the best outcomes of the project is that the campus has already increased the number of applicants to Nokia General Upper Secondary School. ‘A successful site is always nice to run and showcase to others.’
Multi-purpose indoor and outdoor lighting
One of the special features at Silta is the lighting at its magnificent entrance. The lighting’s multi-purpose nature was its most important aspect, allowing it to introduce new layers to the architecture as well. The same light surface serves as both a general static light that increases safety and a highly visible means of communication during exceptional situations.
‘The lights can be used to display information about global or local events, such as the local teams’ games,’ says Project Manager Annika Seppälä from Sweco’s electrical engineering department. ‘We have programmed different lights for special days, such as Christmas and Independence Day.’
All the indoor areas have DALI-controlled lights, and the amount of light can be changed to conserve energy. In addition, the electrical engineering focused on the indoor conditions, which have a great impact on the students’ and staff members’ energy levels and comfort. That is particularly important at a campus that contains facilities for both the upper secondary’s theoretical and Tredu’s hands-on learning. ‘For example, the electricians’ laboratories must comply with several standards of lighting and safety,’ Seppälä says.
Ventilation off at night
The campus has achieved energy efficiency class A and an impressive E score of 76. The biggest savings come from the ventilation. ‘From the start, we designed the school so that the ventilation could be turned off during the night,’ says Project Manager Jari Haavisto from Sweco. However, for the first two years the ventilation will stay on round the clock, until the structures are dry and clean. ‘It is an important safety feature for the indoor air, and in two years’ time the energy saving will be significant.’
The adaptability of facilities should be taken into account in their design, because the group sizes and ways of studying may change considerably in the future. Therefore, one of the storage rooms was turned into a classroom before the building was even completed. ‘Extra capacity has been included in the ventilation ducts, where possible,’ HVAC Designer Juuso Vuorela from Sweco explains. The large ventilation machine rooms are located on the roof of the architectural building, blending into it seamlessly. All the ventilation machines and ducts were able to be fitted underneath the beautiful sloping roof, even though the challenging outdoor grates, among other things, required careful harmonisation from the entire design team. ‘We managed to place the grates at the right height, which allows the snow protection to work properly, for example.’
The most innovative design solution is found in the facilities for working with concrete. ‘A recurring problem at vocational colleges is that the drainage pipes tend to get clogged up,’ Haavisto says. A septic tank that is easy to clean was designed for the room intended for working with wet materials. ‘The intention is to stop the concrete water from blocking the drainage system.’
Technology choices reflect user preferences
Ari Jokinen explains that campus projects must typically harmonise the needs of several different parties. Therefore, the designers took notice of the wishes of users from Tredu and the general upper secondary school at Silta campus, and followed the design guidelines of Tampereen Tilapalvelut and the City of Nokia.
‘On the general upper secondary side, the hot water for the radiators comes from the district heating, but in the tall centre lobby, heating is provided by smart-looking radiant ceiling panels,’ Vuorela says. The same panels are also used in the tall work facilities, so that forklifts and lorries can be driven underneath. Furthermore, convectors on the walls reduce the amount of cold air entering the building when the sectional doors are opened and closed.
In addition to this, the campus uses two different temperature settings. According to Haavisto, the work facilities with high ceilings are kept cooler than the classrooms in order for working to be easier there regardless of the season. ‘But although a lot of technology has been used here, it must work in a subtle way in such a visually impressive building.’
Haavisto feels that the project has taught a lot and is a prime example of maintaining the deadlines. ‘The whole project team shared the same goal throughout, which is reflected in this fantastic end result!’