Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture; ; ), was formed of two separate schools: the faculty of architecture (previously part of the Helsinki University of Technology) and the University of Art and Design Helsinki (UIAH, known in Finnish as TaiK). TaiK, founded in 1871, was the largest art university in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

. The university awards the following academic degrees:

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in Technology,

Architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

, and

Doctor of Arts The Doctor of Arts (D.A.; occasionally D.Arts or Art.D. from the Latin language, Latin ''artium doctor'') is a List of academic disciplines, discipline-based terminal degree, terminal doctorate, doctoral academic degree, degree that was originall ...

. The university is known for its research projects and industrial collaborations. During the rectorship of

Yrjö Sotamaa Yrjö Kalervo Sotamaa (born 25 September, 1942) is a Finnish people, Finnish interior design, designer and Design strategy, design strategist. Sotamaa is Professor Emeritus of Design Innovation in the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and A ...

the university was active in integrating design into Finnish innovation and business networks. This eventually led to the decision to merge TaiK together with

Helsinki University of Technology Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; ; , HUT in international usage) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the Helsinki metropolitan area, and it was one of the three universities from which the modern d ...

(TKK) and the Helsinki School of Economics (HSE) into a new charter university,

Aalto University Aalto University (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economic ...

, which started in January 2010. In the global

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

in 2021, the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture was placed 6th in the art and design subject area. In the field of architecture & built environment Aalto was ranked 42nd. Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture is a founding member of the Cumulus Association, a global association of higher education institutions in the fields of art, design and media.

Organization

Degree programmes are organized under five departments: * Department of Architecture * Department of Art and Media, including the Aalto Media Lab * Department of Design * Department of Film, Television and Scenography

Notable alumni

The school in its earlier incarnation as Taik educated many of the household names of Finnish art, design and cinema. Many alumni, such as Tapio Wirkkala and Kaj Franck have earned international acclaim for their work. The school of architecture, when part of

, produced the foremost names in the history of modern Finnish architecture, most notably

Signe Hornborg Signe Ida Katarina Hornborg (8 November 1862, Turku – 6 December 1916, Helsinki) was a Finnish architect. Upon her reception of her architectural diploma in 1890, she became the first official female architect in the world. Biography A bishop ...

Eliel Saarinen Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1873 – July 1, 1950) was a Finnish and American Architecture, architect known for his work with Art Nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century. He was also the father of famed architect Ee ...

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

– after whom the new university is named –

Viljo Revell Viljo Gabriel Revell (25 January 1910 – 8 November 1964) was a Finnish architect of the functionalist school. In Finland he is best known for the design of the Lasipalatsi ("Glass Palace") and Palace Hotel, both in Helsinki. Internationally ...

Reima Pietilä Frans Reima Ilmari Pietilä (25 August 1923 – 26 August 1993) was a Finnish architect and theorist. He did most of his work together with his wife Raili Pietilä; after 1963 all their works were officially attributed to "Raili and Reima Pietil ...

Timo Penttilä Timo Jussi Penttilä (16 March 1931 – 25 February 2011) was one of Finland's most important modernist architects and was for over 15 years a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in Austria. He is most renowned for the design of th ...

and

Juhani Pallasmaa Juhani Uolevi Pallasmaa (born 14 September 1936 in Hämeenlinna, Finland) is a Finnish people, Finnish architect and former professor of architecture and dean at the Helsinki University of Technology. Among the many academic and civic positions ...

. Internationally acclaimed Marxist theorist and activist

Franco Berardi Franco "Bifo" Berardi (born 2 November 1949) is an Italian Marxist philosopher, theorist and activist in the autonomist tradition, whose work mainly focuses on the role of the media and information technology within post-industrial capitalism. ...

defended his dissertation in the School of Arts, Design and Architecture in 2014.

Raija Jokinen Raija Jokinen (born 1960) is a Finnish visual artist and textile designer. Jokinen lives and works in Helsinki and Sipoo. History Jokinen studied textile design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki (UIAH, former TaiK). She graduated wit ...

, Finnish Textile Artist of the Year 2020, graduated with a master's degree in textile design in 1990.

Väre building

Officially opening to the public in September 2018 the School School of Arts, Design and Architecture moved from Arabia Campus, located in the historical building of the

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

ceramics factory, to the new Väre building in Otaniemi. Its construction began in late 2015 and was completed in summer 2018. The new building block also houses the metro station and a shopping centre.

Organization

Notable alumni

Väre building

See also

References

External links