Marsio
The new meeting place on Aalto University campus. Experience tomorrow!
Marsio tour: read what happens behind the scenes at the campus meeting place
Find out about the research and teaching carried out at Marsio, and learn more about the architecture and event spaces of the building.
Marsio is not only an open meeting and event space for everyone, but also an enabler of interdisciplinary research and art as well as education, equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The building has approximately 6,500 square metres of multipurpose spaces with professional-level technical and audiovisual capacities.
The building is named in honour of a creative pioneer, architect, designer, entrepreneur and Aalto University alum Aino Marsio-Aalto. Read Aino's story here.
Discover below Marsio's event spaces, the research and education conducted in the building, and its architecture.
Meeting and event space that brings Aalto University's activities closer to you
The ground floor spaces of Marsio are particularly intended for public events and exhibitions. Downstairs there is also Aalto University Shop and a restaurant. The aim is to make the university's activities widely visible and accessible to everyone. Step inside at any time and immerse yourself in Aalto University's research and activities.
Enabling interdisciplinary research and art as well as education
Marsio has facilities teaching arts and media, digitalizing of teaching and learning and for cross-sectoral research that combine fields like arts, technology, and business. In classrooms and AV computer labs, it is possible to edit graphics, video, and audio, as well as 3D and augmented reality.
Many research projects conducted in Marsio鈥檚 facilities are related to virtualization of human and their surroundings. Marsio鈥檚 research infrastructure is part of national research infrastructure called MAGICS. Examples of research projects at Marsio:
- collective measurements of people emotions and experiences
- virtual acoustics
- utilizing virtual environments in architecture and design.
Spaces and support to digitalise your teaching
Marsio has modern studio spaces and technologies also for the digitalisation of teaching. There are self-service, open-to-all studio spaces for creating videos and podcasts. In addition, Marsio also has spaces equipped with VR and XR technologies for experiential and interactive learning and creating learning materials. Pedagogical and technical support is available for both smaller and larger productions.
Facilities and equipment supporting the special task of film education
Aalto University has a national task as the only university in Finland offering film education. At Aalto University, you can learn all aspects of film design and production as separate areas of expertise. The staff consists of international-level film and set design professionals and researchers, and our graduates move directly to professional productions, so the facilities and equipment are of professional standard.
Examples of Marsio spaces in teaching and research
The Digital Studio (in first floor) is a state-of-the-art production and research space. In addition to traditional film productions, the space's motion capture system is used in digital animation productions and virtual productions, where film sets and environments are created digitally within the space.
In addition to film productions, the space's motion capture system is utilised in research requiring precise millimetre-level measurement of the movement of objects or people. Such projects at Aalto include game research, brain research and research into interaction between humans and machines. The space is connected to other MAGICS research infrastructures in the building via fibre optic cables, thus allowing it to function as a large-scale experience laboratory.
On the first floor next to the restaurant, there is a cinema primarily used for educational purposes. It has 150 seats, a high-quality 4K laser projector, Dolby Atmos system, and 4K cameras for live streaming events. The cinema is mainly used for educational purposes but can also host film screenings and events.
Cinema Sheryl hosts film screenings at the theatre.
The visualisation studio on the third floor is used as a research space and immersive learning environment. It features a 6-metre cylindrical (round) projection area with a 2.2-metre high screen and a 9.1-channel sound system. The technology in the visualisation studio allows for the presentation of visual content that entirely surrounds the user and viewers. The space comfortably accommodates 8鈥10 people. Examples of activities in the space include experimenting with game design using the Unity or Unreal game engines, running design or architecture programmes, or viewing 360-degree video content.
This space can also be used by university lecturers to deliver lectures and tutorials to students worldwide 鈥 the space enables a fully digital version of a traditional lecture hall. The lecturer sees a gallery of class faces in front of them, occupying a large part of the studio鈥檚 360-degree screen, and can choose from various teaching tools, such as a whiteboard, video, slides and polls.
The architecture of the Marsio building completes the campus centre
The building, offering a showcase-like view, mirrors its neighbouring buildings.
Marsio building鈥檚 namesake Aino Marsio-Aalto: 鈥淏eauty is the harmony of purpose and form鈥
Aalto University鈥檚 new meeting place was named after Aino Marsio-Aalto