In recent years, Turku has built many community centres that house a large variety of services. And there are more on the way.

Olga Knuutinen (left), head teacher of Syvälahti school Marko Koski, and Vilho Helenius all agree that this community centre’s design is very successful. Its spacious and multi-functional facilities work for all users.

Hirvensalo’s Syvälahti Community Centre is abuzz with student groups moving from one classroom to the next. Some of them stay in the bright lobby for group assignments, others find a nice couch to sit on. Large windows open into the courtyard, where day-care kids are playing.

Syvälahti is one of Turku’s three new community centres. All of them include various functions under one roof. Syvälahti has facilities for the day-care centre, school, maternity and child health clinic, youth centre and a sports hall, as well as the school clinic and the Hirvensalo library.

Marko Koski, the head teacher for Syvälahti Comprehensive School, looks around him with a satisfied look on his face. The community centre, completed in 2018, has met all its expectations.

– You wouldn’t know at first glance that we get a thousand daily users here. It only looks busy when the pupils leave the classrooms during recess. Some of the classrooms are quite small and all of them are in use, says Koski.

Effective use of facilities

The pupils of Syvälahti school also use the centre’s facilities in their free time.

Olga Knuutinen, who is in secondary school, likes that the spacious school has lots of different hang-out areas.

– The sofas are definitely my favourite, she says with a smile.

The community centre is also home to various associations and communities. For instance, the lobby can double as a stage. The Hirvensalo Youth Theatre are among the users of Syvälahti.

– This really is a sensible way to arrange services, says Marko Koski.

The centre’s versatile exercise facilities, library, and youth centre all see lots of active users. Vilho Helenius, a pupil at the school, thinks the library is very comfortable. He, too, thinks that it’s important to have places to spend time with friends.

The Syvälahti library is Turku’s second most popular library, if you look at the number of loans. It sees 18,000–19,000 library loans every month.

Living room of the area

As head teacher, Koski sees the community centre as a kind of easy-to-approach living room for all residents of the area.

– The users were included in the planning from the get-go. I definitely think that Syvälahti should be used as an example when planning similar community centres, he says.

Koski says that people from around the world have come to visit Syvälahti. And that their praise has always been glowing.

TEXT: ANNAMARI NURMINEN
PHOTO: TIMO JAKONEN

The article has been published in Finnish in Turkuposti 2, 2025.

 

Why does Turku want community centres?
  • They improve accessibility to services, as they allow you to take care of many things in one place.
  • Community centre facilities are in effective use from dawn till dusk.
  • Activities at a community centre promote well-being: facility users include sports clubs, hobby groups and associations.
  • Community centres are meeting places. They are open to the public and help to prevent loneliness and exclusion.
  • A community centre’s outdoor sports facilities are there for every resident of the area.