Passing the Threshold of Time: Juxtaposing Literary and Architectural Analyses of Amuri, Tampere

The study on which the present article is based focused on the historic residential area of Amuri, Tampere. The present article discusses some of the work conducted in the studio Architectural Design Advanced Course in Tampere, and aims to confront today’s “reading” of the place with literary accounts of the same place by Finnish writers during the 20th century. First, the case of the Pyynikki / Amuri neighbourhood will be situated within the larger context of medium-sized, former industrial cities in Europe. Next, the text will discuss how the changing identity of such cities calls for new approaches to urban development, consequently proposing that in order to develop responsible and sustainable urban projects there is a necessity to under- stand the specific local atmosphere of urban places. The article will show how literary narratives offer ways to trace such knowledge. Combining architectural, perceptual and social analyses of the site with literary accounts of the wooden residential area at different moments in its history (1940s, 1990s), an attempt is made to identify the site-specific qualities of the area so as to be able to build upon the traces of this valuable literary and built heritage. Finally, by writing about these findings from the perspective of the Amuri building block as a character in itself, the present contribution hopes to provide a basis for architectural proposals that would do justice to the site’s urban identity.