Hervanta Central Axis

HERVANTA CENTRAL AXIS, FINLAND

Hervanta Central Axis was designed by Reima and Raili Pietilä in 1979. The brief was to design a centre for Hervanta, a commuter town south of Tampere now Finland’s largest suburb with over 25 000 residents), to structure it both in terms of services and identity. The buildings are credited as examples of Finland’s rare postmodern architecture, and its unique brick structures informed some of the material palettes of the surrounding buildings. The commercial centre was expanded in 2007, and the entire complex includes local shops and café but also a church, health centre, library, youth space, cinema and gardens and acts as a key social, inclusive, sustainable transport and green infrastructure for the entire suburb. 

Produced by Tampere University as part of the ARCH4FUTURE project.
Co-funded by the Finnish National Agency for Education.
Voiceover by Dara Nerweyi