Stories

In Depth

Phenomena — 1.4.2025

The Fate of Modern Office Buildings

Without a heritage listing, the preservation or demolition of an office building is up to the property owner. The deciding factor is whether the owner can see beyond an outdated mass of construction.

Case Study — 1.4.2025

The Tools of the Master of Light

In Juha Leiviskä’s architecture, the light goes through changes and reflects the passage of time. This impression is created by more systematic design principles than is often thought.

Research — 1.3.2025

The Promise of Medium-Density Housing

A city that provides room for both people and nature might be found somewhere between apartment blocks and detached houses. The Asuma research project gives a new benchmark for optimal urban density.

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.

Phenomena — 1.3.2025

Three Cases of Nordic Suburban Renewal

The renovation, infill and renewal of suburban neighbourhoods built during the 1960s and 1970s is a burning issue across Europe. The three examples demonstrate the ways in which this problem has been addressed in Sweden and Denmark.

Phenomena — 1.3.2025

Transforming Suburbs – Viewpoints from Finnish Cities

Residential districts built between the 1950s and 1980s constitute a large geographic segment of Finnish cities. We asked those in charge of urban planning in our largest cities how the suburbs in their cities are being developed right now.

Phenomena — 1.2.2025

Unique, Personalised and Urban Housing

When an architect or client sets out to build a multistorey residential building for their own use, the end result is often more intriguing than what is typically generated through ordinary housing production – for example, a home base for a theatrical community or a combination of a private home and an editorial office for an architectural journal.

Research — 1.2.2025

Towards Housing Design for Shared Living

Shared living challenges the established principles of what is considered good housing design.

Phenomena — 1.2.2025

A Realized Social Utopia

19th-century France and the small town of Guise, about 200 kilometres north of Paris, offer inspiration for concepts of more communal living.

Case Study — 1.2.2025

A Carpet’s Many Patterns

Between a detached house and an apartment building there is room for more diverse building typologies that both save space for nature and offer a detached house-like living experience.

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.

Phenomena — 1.1.2025

The Views Are What Really Matters

If the plans materialise, the new business district on Makasiiniranta will become part of Helsinki’s national landscape during the 2030s. Architect Mikko Summanen considers its design a “once in a lifetime” project.

Phenomena — 1.1.2025

Ode to a Work in Progress

Instead of clearly defined development projects, urban design should entail more continuous processes without predetermined end results. Ecosystem thinking offers guidelines for changing the focus.

Research — 1.1.2025

A Child-Friendly City is Slower, More Permissive and Better for Everyone

In a child-friendly city, play spreads beyond parks, and car users have to be flexible, envision landscape architect Mari Ariluoma and researcher Veera Moll. Through discussion, they found eight principles for planning a child-friendly city.