“The market square is important to the people of Turku – a place for meeting, having a coffee, and buying potatoes and strawberries.”

The wooden pavilions create sheltered spaces in the thoroughly renovated Turku Market Square. Read more on the project → (Photo: Tuomas Uusheimo)

1/2024The Heart of the City

What is the role of the centre in contemporary cities? How should city centres be developed? What are the current trends in urban architecture? What kind of infill development do urban environments sustain?

Renovation

Lahti City Hall

Architects Davidsson Tarkela
Lahti
2023

Article

Against the Human Scale

The key challenges of urban planning extend beyond the human scale, argues Tommy Lindgren.

Interview

Part of the Continuum – Interview with Peter Barber

Peter Barber’s residential buildings in London create continuity with the picturesque historic urban fabric, combining aesthetics and ethics in an original way.

Article

Threat to Protected Buildings

Protected buildings should always be renovated preserving their distinctive features. Nowadays, more and more often, the proposed solution is demolition to make way for larger and more efficient spaces.

Article

Revisit: Kuokkala Centre

The Kuokkala centre shows that urban planning, at its best, is an endurance discipline.

Essay

In Memoriam: Juha Leiviskä (1936–2023) Was Both Expressive and Low Key in His Work

The passing of Juha Leiviskä is a loss to the culture of Finnish architecture but also to the world of architecture in general.

5/2023Tune Up

How does the idea of tuning up fit into and what could it mean in architectural design? What kind of tuning skills can architects use in their work? How to repair and complement the existing environment?

Article

Tuned to Destruction?

Everyday tuning can help maintain and improve buildings, but in the worst cases it can even lead to the building having to be torn down.

Essay

Quiet Labours – On Care and Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall

What is it like to renovate a hundred-year-old building? Ulla Engman writes about the Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall and a type of care work.

Article

Revisit: Vuoranta Training Centre

Many types of intergenerational encounters define the faith of the former training centre in Vuoranta.

Project Review

Small Town Attraction

An art museum in Ekenäs shows us that architecture plays a role in revitalising small towns.

Article

Concept: Spolia – “An Ancient Tool for Contemporary Circular Economy”

The history of spolia dates back to the collapse of Ancient Rome and following propaganda of the Christian church. Nowadays, it could serve as a tool for repurposing building components, particularly when it comes to our endangered, post-1950s building stock.

Interview

Halting New Construction – Interview with Charlotte Malterre-Barthes

The moratorium on new construction is one of the most attention-grabbing manifestos in the field of architecture in recent years. Architect Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, its initiator, explains what the initiative is actually about.

Essay

No Guru, No Method, No Teacher

Who was Reima Pietilä, really? Roger Connah reminisces about his long-time friend.

Learning

Hyytiälä Forestry Field Station

Architects Rudanko + Kankkunen
Juupajoki
2023

Column

Who Cares about Land Use?

Ideally, land use planning processes should consider concepts of global justice and planetary boundaries, but today, they are mostly driven by landowners’ profit.

Article

Dipoli, the Oxymoron

What makes the design of the Dipoli so unique? Moisés Royo provides an in-depth analysis of Reima Pietilä’s most enigmatic project.

Project Review

Aviapolis District Searches for an Identity with the Help of a Small Pavilion

A workplace hub next to Helsinki Airport is gradually transforming into a walkable urban district. The area’s newest attraction is a small event pavilion with a mission larger than its size.

Article

What Are the Qualities of Inspiring Wood Architecture? Six Architects Share Their Dreams

What is currently the most interesting development trend in wood architecture? We asked architects who work with wood what kind of wood architecture they envision in the future.