THE HUG BY MENOMENOPIU ARCHITECTS & PAOLO

VENTURELLA

The project is a contemporary evolution of the classic courtyard tipology,

unfolding the four sides of the courtyard along the axis of the main road,
creating a central urban square facing south for both students and citizens.

The creation of two different external levels that takes shape from the
terrain, has enabled the customization of two different open spaces. The
Lower square at 0.00 represents "THE HUG", the most dynamic front, south
faced, the New Centrality of the Alvar Aalto Campus. In this space of social
interaction
all
the
public
university
activities
and
the
commercial/gastronomic front are concentrated.

The north side of "THE HUG", which is less enlightened, becomes the Media
Lume of the campus with the presence of two theatres and one exterior
stage. The Upper square at +5.00 is the quieter front of the project thought
as a green open space with big terraces. The goal is to keep low in front the
Alvar Aalto's building.

The program is developed in a linear way on the site. Placing on the southeast the commercial front and on the north-west the university activities.
Following the logics of the planning, the program turns into a curve that
ends on the VTT Building and generates the large central space, "THE HUG".
This approach creates an interactive environment for pedestrian and bicycle
traffic, releasing and lengthening the visual outlook.

The basement of the building is a vibrant glazed space, conceived like a

green house, whereon the east side is concentrated a large retail front, such
as grocery shop, copy shop, material shop, book shop, galleries and
restaurants, and on the west side all the common activities of the university
campus, such as exhibition spaces, lounge point, interactive and audiovisual
areas, administrations, stages (Media Lume).

This mix will guarantee a continuous daily life of this place, making it an
attractive center either for its users or for those of the nearby universities.
In fact the project's purpose is to provide a clever urban link between all the
activities already existing and those that will be realized. On this common
basement three boxes are settled. The lower one, that is in visual relation
with the Alvar Aalto building, hosts all dining activities with their beautiful
terraces on both sides.

The development of the internal program is based on the principle of the

mixing and sharing of activities, believing that this system could be a fruitful
way to break down the usual concept of a university campus. The VTT
expansion has been considered as an integrant part of the project being one
of the sides that embraces this new centrality, in fact the highest box relies
on the corner building, connecting it to the whole system and bringing into it
new cultural energy.

The Shading envelope provides a climate control depending on the

exposition, concentrating glazed surfaces on the south-west to accumulate
heat during daylight hours and more opaque surfaces on the north side to
eliminate the heat loss. The roofs play a key role in the project as generators
of life, interactions and energy.

The lowest roof is totally merged with the ground, being a beautiful terrace
and a set back with the Aalto building. The second and the third roof are two
powerful terraces serving the university spaces where in summer period
students can enjoy the beautiful views on the bay. Those two roof decks
could be imagined also as exhibition spaces for the artistic production of the
campus.

The Highest roof is equipped with wind turbines that guarantee the
production of the energy for the new building and the surroundings. All the
design choices are directed in the way of durable development through the
use of high performance materials, capable of limiting consumption, natural
ventilation, natural management of humidity inside, rainwater recovery and
the use of renewable energy such as geothermal energy.

Location: Otaniemi, Helsinki, Finland

Architect: MenoMenoPiu Architects & Paolo Venturella
Project Team: Rocco Valantines, Paolo Venturella, Alessandro Balducci,
Mario Emanuele Salini, Gilberto Bonelli, Pietro Bodria, Julie Terrancle
Renderings: +imgs
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