Tredu students complete Aurora House for Lempäälä Housing Fair

The Aurora House at the Lempäälä Housing Fair was constructed by students from 13 vocational fields at Tampere vocational college Tredu, who handled everything from earthworks to the final interior fittings on the exhibition site. The show home was first presented to media on 19 May the school's earlier announcement, and several students also showcased sensory-sensitive apartment designs at the fair earlier student projects. The college said the project was completed primarily by students working across trades on a real construction site.

Mika Hämäläinen, project manager and lecturer, said the scale and depth of student involvement set the build apart. "Tredu's Aurora House is exceptional as a student project because here students also completed the very final surfaces, the yard and the interior," he said, praising the practical learning opportunities the site provided.

Interior design students modelled the full house layout in Archicad and developed furnishing proposals during workshop sessions with IKEA. Amanda Kuurila contributed to the design of a workroom and to the overall interior visualisations, an experience that helped bridge classroom skills and workplace practices as student ideas were taken into account in decision-making.

On the construction side, students gained hands-on experience across a wide range of trades. Aleksi Kiviniemi worked on wet-room tiling, waterproofing and drywall. Miika Saari and Eemeli Vendelin stayed with the project through the build, assembling log elements, roofing, sealing, plasterboard and finishing work. They also built a terrace and partition walls.

The site demanded constant coordination. Regular site meetings and joint planning kept different professions moving in step and taught students teamwork, communication and how individual tasks fit into the wider building process.