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The Courtyard Tampere City Hotel which opened at the beginning of 2020, is an elegant addition to the rapidly changing cityscape of Tampere in southern Finland. It shares its lot with the postmodern Tampere Hall concert and congress center completed in 1990.

The aim in designing the hotel was to create a building that would feel like a natural, yet distinctive part of the sprawling congress center complex. The LEED Gold-certified hotel has a simple white volume. Its angles and textures continue the architecture of the congress center. Despite the large size and prominent location, the design in a way camouflages the hotel. By filling a void in the urban realm, the new building also strengthens the connection between Tampere Hall and the main building of Tampere University located on the opposite side of the street.

The facades are made of concrete elements cast with an elaborate set of steel molds. Together, these elements produce a vertically wrinkled surface texture reminiscent of curtains. The surface texture reacts in ever-changing ways to the strong seasonal variation in the angle of the sun’s rays, typical of the northern location. The repetitive window openings reveal the function of the building and create a contrast to the blank walls of the congress center.

The hotel building is clear and simple also in terms of functionality. Its floor sizes have been optimized and its corridor layout is efficient. The ends of the volume have been cut diagonally both to make the structure appear slimmer and to correspond to the angles of the Congress center. The ground level acts as a social and recreational space for the hotel guests. The reception, a service counter, a multi-functional restaurant space, business facilities, a gym, and a mini market are located by the entrance.

A canopy-like glass-walled indoor passageway connects the hotel lobby to the lobby of the congress center. The entrance square is redefined as a lively urban plaza. Directed mainly at business travelers, the 229 hotel rooms contain all the essential features that they might need or expect from Marriott’s Courtyard brand. The floor-to-ceiling windows provide the rooms with enticing views of the surrounding cityscape. The spa-like bathrooms are light and airy. All in all, the interior design of the hotel follows the brand’s detailed design manual both aesthetically and functionally.

The commission was based on ALA Architects, together with SRV Construction and Marriott International winning 1st prize in the invited design & build competition, organized in 2013 by the City of Tampere in collaboration with the Tampere Hall.

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