Stories

Phenomena

Phenomena — 18.6.2026

Geopolitics is thought about a lot in the architectural field, but rarely talked about

Italian Daniele Belleri has written a series of articles for the Finnish Architectural Review website about the influence of geopolitics on Finnish architecture. In the final article of the series, he discusses how the architectural field should act in the changed geopolitical situation.

Phenomena — 18.6.2026

geopolitics

Architecture can form a counterforce to imperialism, and Finland is a good example of this, says researcher Markus Lähteenmäki

Art historian Markus Lähteenmäki has studied imperialism in architecture. According to Lähteenmäki, anti-imperialist thinking is an inseparable part of the history of Finnish architecture.

Phenomena — 15.6.2026

sustainability

Prototypes lead the way to the low-carbon future

One way to develop carbon-neutral materials is to construct prototypes and demo houses that are built to actual scale. Kristo Vesikansa surveyed the most interesting experiments in Europe.

Phenomena — 28.4.2026

geopolitics

Oodi Library is the opposite of flexibility – ”This is a public, open building for people, it cannot be transformed into an office building”

Finnish libraries are a laboratory for materializing an egalitarian society, says researcher Hossam Hewidy. Daniele Belleri discusses the importance of libraries in national crisis resilience with five architects dedicated to library design.

Phenomena — 20.4.2026

built heritage

What remains of the Oulu School?

The architecture of the Oulu School has been both loved and disparaged. The buildings are now due for refurbishment, and many risk demolition.

Phenomena — 10.3.2026

geopolitics

Mirkku Kullberg: ”Paimio Sanatorium can become the most interesting and important meeting place in the Nordics”

Paimio Sanatorium can offer answers to what kind of problems can be solved through architecture and design in a world where there are already enough goods and buildings, says Mirkku Kullberg, CEO of the Paimio Sanatorium Foundation.

Phenomena — 24.2.2026

housing co-ops

The bubble of the fortunate

Zurich’s housing co-operative model represents a success in both social policy and urban governance. It is based on political support measures that do not currently exist in Finland.

Phenomena — 2.1.2026

Museum of Architecture and Design

Pilvi Kalhama: “Today’s construction culture is too cautious”

Finland spends too much time calculating risks, says Pilvi Kalhama, director of the Museum of Architecture and Design. This may also be the reason why no major Finnish companies have emerged in the creative industries in recent decades, Kalhama says in an interview with Daniele Belleri.

Phenomena — 17.12.2025

geopolitics

Panu Savolainen: In Finland, architecture has been considered more apolitical than it actually is

Can geology and geopolitics together tell us something about the future of architecture in Finland? The climate crisis has forced us to rethink supposedly timeless elements of the Earth – air, oceans, and ancient sediments as not immutable or insulated from human impact, contrary to extractivist belief.

Phenomena — 9.12.2025

geopolitics

Finland’s geopolitical position has changed, and it also affects architecture

Finland has joined NATO and relations with Russia have frozen, but the effects of the country's changing geopolitical position on the field of architecture have hardly been discussed. Daniele Belleri, who led the curatorial team for this year's Venice Architecture Biennale, now addresses the topic in his online article series.

Phenomena — 4.12.2025

trends

New Historicism and the Value of Novelty

In recent years, a new type of relationship with history and the use of historical references has emerged in Finnish architecture. Is this merely another way to achieve a new kind of architectural expression, or does it reflect a deeper change?

Phenomena — 3.12.2025

young architects

Geopolitics is thought about a lot in the architectural field, but rarely talked about

Architecture can form a counterforce to imperialism, and Finland is a good example of this, says researcher Markus Lähteenmäki

Prototypes lead the way to the low-carbon future

Oodi Library is the opposite of flexibility – ”This is a public, open building for people, it cannot be transformed into an office building”

What remains of the Oulu School?

Mirkku Kullberg: ”Paimio Sanatorium can become the most interesting and important meeting place in the Nordics”

The bubble of the fortunate

Pilvi Kalhama: “Today’s construction culture is too cautious”

Panu Savolainen: In Finland, architecture has been considered more apolitical than it actually is

Finland’s geopolitical position has changed, and it also affects architecture

New Historicism and the Value of Novelty

The New Wave

The Fate of Modern Office Buildings

The Fifty-Year Myth

Three Cases of Nordic Suburban Renewal