Student housing should be shared, not studios

Helsingin Sanomat recently highlighted the significant challenges students face in securing housing, especially those just beginning their studies. The newspaper pointed to an unusual experiment in Lappeenranta, where a large, house-like building was intended to house up to 11 students using shared facilities. This approach was deemed counterintuitive, as the prevailing trend is toward market-priced studio apartments, or student-specific studios when available.

Reflecting on his own experience, the author recalls moving into a shared "corridor" apartment in Otaniemi's Teekkari Village in the autumn of 1955. His apartment housed five double rooms with shared bathrooms, toilets, and a kitchen, plus a small common area for socializing. The residents included architecture, surveying, and electrical engineering students, along with a bus driver and a cashier. This arrangement fostered a strong sense of community, with students heading to lectures together, collaborating on assignments, and socializing at student union events.

Financial self-sufficiency was managed through savings from summer jobs, with the author taking on roles like loading cargo at the harbor and scraping rust at a shipyard. Engineering students found regular work in their field as early as their third year, while others secured well-paid summer jobs that covered their winter expenses. The shared housing system proved beneficial, facilitating the transfer of experiences among residents and aiding studies through collaborative efforts. It provided an affordable community for young people learning to live independently.

The author concludes that if society can afford student housing, it should prioritize shared "corridor" apartments over isolating studio units. This model, he argues, supports community building and prevents social exclusion among students.

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If society can afford student housing, it should be corridor apartments and not studios that push towards isolation.