Stories

Essay

Essay — 5.10.2026

Beauty is back in architecture, with the help of Instagram

Architectural photographer Marc Goodwin has observed that new architecture uses is history as a resource, quite like postmodernism did a couple of decades ago. However, something is different now, as visual culture has become a more integral part of architecture.

Essay — 22.9.2026

re-use

The charming Viljanen House preserves tragedies of Finnish architectural heritage

The family home of architect Kaarlo Viljanen has gradually taken shape over the course of four decades, whilst elsewhere the built heritage has been demolished, redeveloped or abandoned.

Essay — 28.11.2025

circular economy

Post-Collapse Architecture

The ongoing ecological crisis, climate change and other upheavals will inevitably change architecture. What will the architectural aesthetics of the future look like?

Essay — 1.3.2025

Photo Essay: In the Shadow of a Spectacle

A great tension in the urban space has arisen in Espoo in the 2020s, between the city built in the 1960s–1990s and the large, bold construction projects that are rapidly demanding the space for themselves. Photographer Henri Salonen has captured the city’s transformation.

Essay — 1.3.2025

Whose Voice Is Heard?

An architect can use their professional skills to ensure that the needs of more residents are taken into account in urban planning. The Elonkirjon kaupunki project develops alternative plans as a means to tackle the shortcomings of both official participation processes and urban activism.

Essay — 1.1.2025

The newest Alvar Aalto Medallist has an intense sensitivity for all aspects of space

The architect Marie-José Van Hee’s oeuvre largely consists of skilfully designed private houses in Belgium.

Essay — 1.1.2025

Sites of Resistance

The rise of protest, activism and alternative memorials challenge urban planners to adopt more flexible approaches to the urban landscape.

Essay — 1.5.2024

Porous Boundaries

In Japan, one can encounter spaces where nature and architecture are inseparably intertwined.

Essay — 1.5.2024

The Domestication of the Foreign

How do the local and the foreign come together? For Fernando Nieto, the adaptation process is two-sided.

Essay — 1.4.2024

Layers of Intention

Painted architecture evolves with changing ideals. How might we learn to read the sediments of history hidden in the layers of colour?

Essay — 1.3.2024

Dreaming of Socially Accessible Cultural Venues

What might a truly inclusive cultural venue for all look like?

Essay — 1.3.2024

Optical Vacuum

For decades, the theatre space has remained in the background in the mainstream cinematic experience. Different kinds of experiences are available at film festivals.

Essay — 1.3.2024

Dramaturgy of Building and Ruin

If one examines an office building or shopping centre through the means of performing arts, what do they reveal about themselves, about architecture – and about the act of performing?

Essay — 1.5.2023

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.

Essay — 1.4.2023

Urban Forest – an Object of Conflict or Care?

Urban densification is often executed at the expense of urban woodlands, which the local residents do not always like, nor is it ecologically sustainable. Interwoven problems can be solved by expanding the sphere of care to the more than human worlds.