This study looks at the Laanila district of the city of Oulu and, in particular, apartment houses, designed by Alvar Aalto, their history and current situation from a number of points of view.

Topical research includes the survey of industrial heritage of Alvar Aalto in Finland with focus point on workers’ housing. This kind of work has not previously been done for Laanila housing, therefore, this is the first attempt to summarize and structure the knowledge about this area, which has been, somehow, the latest of Alvar Aalto works in the field of housing for industrial areas in Finland. My work is committed to learning the values of this district’s constructed and natural environment. The general idea is to identify and assess cultural significance using international restoration declarations as guidelines. In practice, my target is to investigate past and present condition of original Laanila buildings and their urban environment, social and technical aspects, and offer several renovation and infill solutions based on this analysis with all respect to the values this over 60 years old residential group possesses. They are meant to make a positive change for people who interact with these houses and their infrastructure. Nother purpose is investment into the common knowledge of Alvar Aalto’s work, which is not yet completely described and estimated.

368 800m² — area of investigation

90 000m² — area of close-up study

19 370m² — territory belonging to houses under research

1 708m² — footprint area of all three buildings

The sources of materials used come from the City of Oulu Archives, SATO Oy, Realia Oy, as well as Alvar Aalto Foundation, Oulu University School of Architecture archives and library, in addition to a number of literary and Internet references.

Master Thesis consists of two parts: the exposure materials (8 boards A1) and a booklet.