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Graduate School of Industrial Timber Construction

Lasting research collaboration between Tampere University and the University of Auckland

Attending the meeting at Kiinko’s AnnaK were (left to right) Mãui Hōete, Anthony Hōete, Aku Aspila, Sami Pajunen, Mika Alanen, Antti Tuure, Antti Kurvinen, Ninni Westerholm and puppy Tiita.

Tampere University's Graduate School of Industrial Timber Construction continues research collaboration with New Zealand. There are great opportunities in joining our forces together for more cohesive and sustainable wood construction in the future.

In June, Professor of Architecture Anthony Hōete from the University of Auckland’s School of Architecture and Planning met with the Graduate School in Helsinki. During the afternoon, there were talks and presentations about current research and project activities in Tampere as well as how to further strengthen our collaboration in the field of timber research and architecture between Tampere University and the University of Auckland.

Additionally, we have agreed on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between our universities, which is a great commitment towards our long-term collaboration. In practice, MoU means that we’ve agreed on shared goals and are working towards them together.

The group had lunch at restaurant Kiila and admired its architectural style. © Mãui Hōete

From Tampere University, we attended together with the Graduate School’s Doctoral Reserachers Ninni Westerholm, Aku Aspila, Antti Tuure and Mika Alanen, Professor Sami Pajunen and Assistant Professor Antti Kurvinen, co-leader of the Knowledge Centre for Real Estate Development (KCRED).

Westerholm worked with Prof. Hōete as a visiting scholar at the University of Auckland for three months earlier this year. The purpose of the visit was to understand the characteristics of the wood construction industry in New Zealand in relation to Finland and how the two countries can benefit from each other’s expertise in the best possible way.

“There is a lot of untapped potential for the construction industry in New Zealand’s forests, as the majority of logs are now shipped overseas”, said Westerholm.

Despite the rainy weather, we stopped intermittently to admire the city on the walk to Kiinko’s AnnaK room Katto.

Now the collaboration continues in Brisbane where the Graduate School will fly for the upcoming World Conference of Timber Engineering 2025. Two papers that have been written in collaboration between Finland’s and New Zealand’s researchers will be presented there.

“This is an excellent opportunity to meet other researchers from the University of Auckland and deepen the research collaboration between the two universities,” said Prof. Pajunen.

“New Zealand and Finland have a shared past regarding sawmill development during the 1900’s, so it feels natural to join forces now that the timber industry is pushing the boundaries,” concluded Prof. Hōete.

Anthony Hōete is a Professor of Architecture (Māori) and is of Ngāti Awa and Ngāti Ranana descent. His academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Architecture (Honours) from the University of Auckland, a Master of Architecture from The Bartlett at University College London, and a PhD in Architecture from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. (As stated on Prof. Hōete’s information page here.)

Read more about the Graduate School on their website.

For more information, contact:

Ninni Westerholm
Doctoral Researcher
Tampere University
ninni.westerholm@tuni.fi

Anthony Hōete
Professor of Architecture
University of Auckland
a.hoete@auckland.ac.nz

Sami Pajunen
Professor, Kevyt- ja erikoisrakenteet
Tampere University
sami.pajunen@tuni.fi

Antti Kurvinen
Assistant Professor, Real Estate Development
Tampere University
antti.kurvinen@tuni.fi

Text and 2/3 pictures:

Alisa Hakola
Researcher, CoreLab
Tampere University
alisa.hakola@tuni.fi

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