”You can use whatever resources are available, as long as those resources can be used in a way that can be engaged in a haptic way.”
2/2021Tradition and Renewal
What can we learn from traditional building techniques, and how to apply them in contemporary construction? How to fit a new building into an existing environment?
Updating Monomaterial Construction
For some time now, there has been talk amongst architects about the return of monomaterial construction. Elina Koivisto pieced together what's happening in the field at the moment.
Architecture from the Field Side
Contemporary architects can be inspired by something as simple as a modest agricultural building. Barn architecture has become a global trend.
Revisit: Rajamäki School and Rajakaari Multipurpose Hall
Rajamäki School and Rajakaari Multipurpose Hall were built in the 1960s as a shared effort by the locals. Now the Municipality of Nurmijärvi is planning to demolish the buildings.
Kajaani Upper Secondary School and Kainuu Vocational College Extension
alt Architects
Kajaani
2020
Remembering Kristian Gullichsen (1932–2021)
William J. R. Curtis wrote a memorial text about his friend, architect Kristian Gullichsen.
1/2021Crisis
What kind of effects do crises have on architecture? How can the built environment help us in preparing for upcoming, unknown crises?
Editorial 1/2021: Architecture at Year One
It will be years before the tangible impacts of the current epidemic will become visible to us.
Crises Never Come Alone
Crises have manifold effects on the society, as the Covid-19 pandemic has recently shown. However, a more resilient built environment can help prevent secondary crises from unfolding, which makes architects part of the solution.
On the Drawing Board: Freedom versus Safety
The restrictions and demand for social isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic provide a deeper perspective for a designer as regards the special needs of nursing home residents, say Kirsti Sivén and Asko Takala.
Revisit: The Ruoholahti Canal
Ruoholahti district, built during the 1990s, continues the grid structure of the Helsinki city centre westwards. The canal traversing the district utilises with classic themes of urban planning in a slightly modernized form.
Who Has a Right to the City?
Recently, there has been an active discussion about whether Helsinki is planned on the terms of investors or city residents. ARK discussed the sore spots of city planning with the editors of the pamphlet Kenen kaupunki?
6/2020Development
What kind of values and structures guide or control architects in their work? Where is the field of architecture heading to? How can architecture contribute to building a better future?
“Alvar and Göran Were Connected by Their Will to Experience the New”
The friendship of Alvar Aalto and Göran Schildt lasted for decades. Göran Schildt’s widow Christine Schildt reminisces about her life as the writer’s wife and as a friend of Alvar and Elissa Aalto.
Return of the Industry
Integrating industry within the urban fabric of our cities could contribute to their long-term sustainability. In the Malminkartano district of Helsinki, many principles presently considered radical have been on trial for some 30 years.
The Multi-Faceted Sirens
The exhibition on the life and works of Kaija and Heikki Siren at the Espoo City Museum is the first ever comprehensive exhibition in Finland of the Sirens’ architecture. The exhibition on the life and works of Kaija Siren (1920–2001) and Heikki Siren (1918–2013) at KAMU, the Espoo City Museum, is a summation of the […]
The Future Lies in Africa
Africa is urbanising at a fast pace. If western architects want to be part of the development, an attitude of awareness and humbleness is needed.
Return of the Industry
Integrating industry within the urban fabric of our cities could contribute to their long-term sustainability. In the Malminkartano district of Helsinki, many principles presently considered radical have been on trial for some 30 years.