TAD week is one of Finland’s largest architecture and design events. This year’s theme, “Äly” – Intelligence, and, in the same breath, simplicity – has inspired an engaging international programme open to everyone. Most events take place in the historic Finlayson area, with activities also extending across Tampere.
Nearly 40 events and exhibitions
TAD week offers a wide range of workshops, from LEGO cities to jewellery design, as well as open houses, walking tours, fashion and thought-provoking seminars. Topics under discussion include the changing urban landscape and the latest research into intelligence.
This year, the Kestävä talo 8 event takes participants on a unique walking tour of abandoned houses. At the Kisastudio Live! discussion event, speakers will explore the role and significance of architectural competitions in enhancing cities’ attractiveness and capacity for renewal.
TADweek’s fifteen exhibitions explore themes of materials, time and international exchange. The artists’ association Taiteilijat O ry celebrates its 20th anniversary with the exhibition “Oon ajassa”, which considers artistic practice as slow, embodied knowledge that offers a counterpoint to the digital age. Celebrating 40 years of friendship between the twin cities of Tampere and Olomouc, the installation “Treasures: Tampere > Olomouc” presents a Finnish-Czech collaborative work shown in the Czech Republic earlier this year. As a counterpoint to the visual works, Heikki Vastiala’s sound installation “Sounds of the Great Solar Furnace of Uzbekistan” draws on structure-borne sounds and resonances captured from the steel structures of a monumental solar furnace and transferred to Finlayson’s historic industrial spaces. The work invites visitors to experience architecture not through its surfaces and forms, but through what happens within them.
The exhibitions in the Finlayson area are open to the public until 4 October 2026.
Main seminars on design and architecture
Speakers at Muotoilun Iltapäivä on 30 September include Doctor of Arts and colour expert Pirjo Seddiki, who will discuss the preparation of international colour forecasts and colour as an experiential phenomenon, and experienced textile entrepreneur (KOOMA) and artist Antti Putkonen, who will bring to the event his passion for weaving, craftsmanship and the creative energy of spontaneity. They will be joined by Maja Towndrow, project manager at Slovenia’s Center Rog, who will present the connections between contemporary design and traditional craftsmanship.
The festival week culminates on 2 October with the Architecture and Cities in Transition seminar (ACT), featuring top international and Finnish names in architecture and urban planning. This year’s keynote speaker, Dana Behrman, director of Urban-Landscape Studio at UNS, will discuss the international significance of architectural competitions. Architects from the Tampere-based 8Studio collective – Ilmari Lahdelma, Rainer Mahlamäki, Markus Seppänen, Juha Luoma, Pentti Kareoja, Mikko Kaira and Timo Veijonsuo – will speak about the group’s work and legacy. The seminar also features architect Valentino Tignanelli (AaltoSiilo), as well as presentations by Petteri Kummala, Fernando Nieto and the City of Tampere. Sini Saarimaa from Rakennustietosäätiö sr (RTS) will present the Pietilä Prize at the seminar.
Explore the TADweek programme
