6/2019Economy
What are the connections between architecture and economy? How does the current economic system affect architecture, our cities and buildings?
Culture in the Big League
Completed last year in Fuzhou, the cultural centre consists of five main functions: an opera house, concert hall, multifunctional hall, cinema and exhibition hall. Pekka Salminen, professor and architect, tells about the project and the activities of PES-Architects in China.
20 years of Exporting Danish Sustainable Architecture
3XN is one of the best-known Danish architectural firms in the world. What kind of approach to architecture anf business lies behind the firm's international expansion?
The Curious OOO
Despite its long name, object-oriented ontology (OOO) is a surprisingly approachable new school of philosophy. It is being utilised for both creative work and a more comprehensive reorganisation of worldviews. When describing the profession of an architect, interdisciplinarity is one of the first words that usually comes to mind.
Chapel Demolition
The modernist Lepola funerary chapel in Kouvola never received protection status. We can ask ourselves, what is the point of statements from the authorities when even indisputable architectural values are ultimately overshadowed by economic concerns?
On Doughnuts, Definitions, and the Troubles with Exhibiting
This autumn, the Oslo Architecture Triennale focussed on the problems of continuous growth. Dubravka Sekulić writes about her thoughts at the Triannale.
The Late-Capitalist City
As the murky ethical and societal implications of late-capitalism become ever clearer, is the compromise of our urban places a price worth paying for maintaining the current economic hegemony? Lee Marable examines the effects of late-capitalism on Kalasatama district in Helsinki.
5/2019Ecology
Land use and construction consume large amounts of natural resources and energy, causing a lion's share of the emissions and waste. What kind of changes this should prompt in architecture, if we aim for a more sustainable future?
A Nature Trail in the Grip of Culture and the Past
How to maintain the innate wildness of nature while making it available for everyone? Hanna Johansson visits the recreational path in Lammassaari, Helsinki.
On a Path Toward Ecological Living
Talo Kissankäpälä is one of the first single-family houses with natural stack ventilation in the Helsinki metropolitan area that was built after the new Finnish energy regulations came into effect.
The Renovated Cradle of Humanist Learning
The main building of University of Jyväskylä, designed by Alvar Aalto in 1956, has in the past suffered from a sick building syndrome. Now, newly renovated it returns to its central role on campus.
Growth and its Costs
Studying the history of urban development might help with understanding the future of cities, suggests Eeva Berglund.
An Architecture Shaped by the Wind, the Water and the Sun
All too often, discussions about sustainability in architecture are reduced to the technical performance of buildings. Japanese architect Hiroshi Sambuichi's more lyrical approach inspires Maiju Suomi.
Studio Visit: Matti Kuittinen –Siding with Sustainability
Since the summer of 2019, Matti Kuittinen has held a new and rare title – Professor of Resource-Efficient Construction and Environmental Impacts.
News
4/2019Design
Today, design is on everyone’s lips. But what is its meaning in architecture and the related discourses?
Energetic Visionary
Each summer a new experimental pavilion is erected by the Serpentine Gallery in London. Marianna Wahlsten interviewed artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist prior to the official opening of the 2019 pavilion.
100 Years of Bauhaus School and the Need for New Perspectives
Anja Neidhardt brings into question the complicated history of Bauhaus and introduces new interpretations that broaden our understanding of the design school.
ALA partners: “The most inspiring architecture of the last century”
How did ALA end up planning the renovation of the Finnish Embassy in New Delhi? What is their relationship with the Pietiläs’ architecture?