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Otakaari 1 grandhall. Photo: Esa Kapila
 

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Recent Submissions

Emotional Responses and Natural Materials: A Study of Sense of Place through Environmental Psychology and Material-Driven Design
(2025-04-30) Jagelaviciute, Rūta
School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
At every moment, individuals are immersed in the physical environment. Built and natural settings do not merely serve as a neutral backdrop to daily activities but can support and actively shape unique experiences. The relationship between place and an individual has garnered a great deal of attention across various of disciplines, often explored through the concept of Sense of Place. Stemming from the interest of how much architectural environment can impact the psychosomatics, the central focus of this research is to unfold why individuals experience the same space differently by understanding the processes behind emotional responses, and identifying, which psychosocial and architectural factors contribute to formation of the Sense of Place. Combining environmental psychology and material-driven design approaches, this study aims to investigate how the use of natural materials contributes to unique emotional responses to space, thereby improving the well-being of both humans and the environment. Literature analysis reviewed the existing information on the concept of Sense of Place, three types of emotional responses – subjective experiences, physiological responses and behavior, and natural materials. 13 psychosocial and 3 architectural groups of interrelated qualities that contribute to unique emotional responses in a place were identified, with perception playing a central role in differentiating unique experiences. For the empirical research, two methods were employed – a sociological survey and material-driven experiment of emotional responses. The indicators for evaluation of psychosocial and architectural qualities were set based on the literature references. The experiment observed the behavior of 19 individuals in response to 4 natural materials: wood, mycelium, clay and rammed earth. A comparison of the survey and the experiment results highlighted the significance of direct physical contact in inducing a sense of familiarity, which, in turn, leads to more pronounced emotional responses to natural materials. A conceptual model, informed by the results of the literature analysis and empirical research, served as the basis for an experimental interior architecture project. The conclusions, stemming from the findings of the literature review and empirical analysis, were translated into the concept of a pavilion aimed at emphasizing the role of unique spatial perceptions through the arrangement of natural materials and restorative activities that facilitate creative self-expression and foster stronger connections between humans, their community, and nature through knowledge sharing. The application of environmental psychology and material-driven design approaches was reflected in the design by integrating key psychosocial and architectural qualities and by utilizing natural materials.
Building a path to design: from aspiring to emerging
(2025-05-23) Fiermonte, Federico
School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
Within the field of contemporary design, the step between the academic path and one’s future professional life represents a delicate phase, especially where it requires creative ambition and an understanding of a dynamic market. This thesis refers to this transition, repeating the steps of personal growth, personal design value refinement, and direct contact with the European design industry. Through participation in events and international fairs, it has been possible for me to gain valuable knowledge and develop a strategy to better present my projects to firms and professionals. The analysis of these experiences goes beyond the mere presentation of a product, but rather considers all aspects connected to such events, including logistics, event selection, communication preparation to build a reliable presentation, and cresting a design identity. This thesis offers a reflection on the challenges of an emerging designer in a competitive world and the steps taken to slowly bloom, seeking a collaboration with a company and general exposure in this field. In this thesis, I analyzed the experiences and learnings made during the design and collectible exhibitions I have taken part to. This includes, further than the product displays, approaching companies, organizing and managing logistics, and receiving feedback from the public and professionals. In the light of the presentations of my projects at various events, I developed a furniture project. Based on these experiences, this project was presented in a more refined manner to the public and especially to furniture at the Salone del Mobile 2025 fair, within the Salone Satellite section dedicated to young and emering designers. With the experiences gained through participation in exhibitions, I evaluated the significance of design fairs within the field of design and particularly the furniture design sector. I assessed how they attract a diverse audience, including industry professionals, media representatives, magazine editors, and craftsmen; analyzing the the different interactions and outcomes from these expereinces.
The role of analyst sentiment in excess return forecasting, and its implications for investors
(2025-04-25) Kohvakka, Eetu
School of Science | Master's thesis
This study evaluates the role of analyst sentiment in trading, and its implications for traders. The research problem of this study is to gauge if active investing with machine learning is worth the effort, how analyst sentiment features in the data affects neural network machine learning model accuracy and portfolio performance, how it compares to passive index investing, and to whom it is suited for. Neural network machine learning models are trained with and without features that are based on the consensus of subjective financial analyst estimates. The neural networks are built similarly to those presented in risk premium forecasting literature from the past few years, which have been proven to offer significant economic gains to investors employing them. To highlight the importance of data quality, the experiment is repeated with two different datasets. The top decile by predicted excess returns makes the long portfolio, and the performance of the long portfolio is compared to the S&P500 index. As the focus is on alpha values, the returns used in the data, in predictions, and for the S&P500 are excess returns over the 10-year constant maturity bond yield. The data for this study is sourced from Wharton Research Data Services (WRDS), using tables from Compustat, CRSP and I/B/E/S. The long horizon excess returns of the best machine learning portfolios can double the excess returns of the S&P500 index. When controlling for the presence of analyst features, significant changes can be seen in the portfolio performances. Removing the analyst features from the data generally improves the out of sample performance of the portfolio. The required break-even trading costs are 0.15 USD at the highest, which limits the feasibility of this strategy. In theory with fractional shares, a retail investor can accomplish this. Even in perfect conditions, an individual investor is better of investing in the S&P500 index. For those investors with better capabilities of managing large portfolios and a more frictionless access to the market, these strategies are sound.
The adaptive reuse of the Valkeala High School building into co-housing
(2025-05-26) Lindholm, Kajsa
School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
This thesis explores the adaptive reuse of the vacant Valkeala High School building, constructed in 1985 and located in Kouvola, Finland. The potential of the two-storey brick building is examined through the principles of adaptive reuse, characteristics of cohousing and supported by case studies from Denmark, Belgium and Norway. The ambition is to retain as much of the building structure as possible, including most parts of the façade, the bearing structure, the brick material and refine the architectural values to adapt and extend the building into co-housing. The building is enhanced with one additional timber floor, new windows in addition to the reused ones and the existing brick façade is reclad. The spatial reorganization is characterised by the old dimensions but refined by repurposing the demolished interior brick walls for creating the new apartment layout. The thesis is divided into two parts: the first presents the principles of adaptive reuse, and characteristics of co-housing, supported by case studies that is followed by the second part - the design proposal. A key aspect of the design is the relationship between the existing structure and the new. The balance is realised by ensuring that the existing architectural features of the building, defined by the façade, structure, and spatial dimensions, continues in the new design. The transition between the old and the new is not entirely erased but harmonized, allowing the two different eras represented in the building to coexist and create a new entirety. The final design is a proposal on how design through adaptive reuse principles and co-housing characteristics can extend a buildings lifecycle, keep it from being demolished and instead revitalized into new apartments. The redefined spatial layout is defined by the existing structure, whose dimension allow for a variety of private dwellings and spacious communal spaces both within and around the building. The additional floor allows for more dwellings and optimizing the ratio between private units and common areas. This thesis is part of a pilot initiative for revitalizing Kouvola, aiming to identify sustainable alternatives for underutilized buildings, and this project is presented as one potential solution.
Molecular dynamics simulations of dynamic crack propagation in brittle materials
(2025-05-07) Karhulahti, Gabriella
School of Science | Master's thesis
In this thesis, molecular dynamics is used to simulate crack propagation in brittle materials. The purpose of the study is to investigate the suitability of classical interatomic potentials for describing atomic fracture mechanisms. Three materials (silicon, iron, and nickel) have been studied that have different crystal structures, allowing for a comparative analysis. In addition, two potentials per material were analyzed to assess potential discrepancies. The study is limited to materials exposed to tensile stress caused by dynamic loading. Pristine crystal structures containing a predefined seed crack were used for the simulations. Griffith's theory has been used to calculate the theoretical values for the critical load for each material. The theory is limited to elastic materials that fracture in a brittle manner, meaning that no plastic deformation will occur before the fracture. The theory is formulated using continuum mechanics which does not take certain atomistic fracture mechanisms into account. Two of these mechanisms are lattice trapping and dislocation emissions, which will prevent propagation to some extent and cause a higher critical load. Previous fracture studies on the same materials and crystal orientations have exhibited brittle fractures. Most of the simulations in this study showed typical characteristics of ductile fractures. The simulation of a crack in iron along the (110) crystal axis, in particular, exhibited dislocation emission. Although most of the materials did not undergo ideal brittle fractures, plastic deformation was limited and the simulated critical loads were close to the theoretical values. Additionally, a fracture study on hexagonal ice was attempted, but was not feasible due to long simulation times and incompatibility of the ice structure and potential. This study has shown that classical potentials are capable, to some extent, of capturing crack propagation in brittle materials. Although the simulated critical load values are consistently higher than theoretical predictions. The fracture behaviour is consistent with previous experimental and computational studies.