Jyväskylä University Main Building Refurbishment

Jyväskylä University’s main building is one of the most significant examples of Alvar Aalto’s red brick period. A comprehensive restoration in 2013–2017 was carried out in close collaboration with the Alvar Aalto Foundation and Finland’s National Board of Antiquities. In the course of the project, the assembly hall ventilation system was upgraded, the roof and flooring were replaced and the windows refurbished.

Jyväskylä University’s main building is one of the most significant examples of Alvar Aalto’s red brick period. Built in 1955, it was originally used as a teacher training college. In addition to lecture halls, laboratory spaces and other teaching and research facilities, the building comprises administrative offices, staff meeting rooms, an assembly hall and café. The building forms part of the wider Seminaarinmäki conservation area.

A comprehensive restoration in 2013–2017 was carried out in close collaboration with the Alvar Aalto Foundation and Finland’s National Board of Antiquities. In the course of the project, the assembly hall ventilation system was upgraded, the roof and flooring were replaced and the windows refurbished. Internal walls added to the building in the intervening years were demolished to reinstate the original floor plan and a new focus was created for the library foyer and main library space by creating direct access to adjoining spaces. The design team were committed to retaining as many original structures, materials and items of furniture as possible. With regard to the flooring, this meant that each brick had to be individually lifted, numbered and cleaned before being relaid in their original slots, the floor structure beneath also having been replaced. All items of furniture by Alvar and Aino Aalto, Maija Heikinheimo and Ilmari Tapiovaara were restored. The results belie the scale and scope of the project, giving the impression that much of the building remains unchanged and in its original state.