Interview

Studio Visit: Trevor Harris and Hennu Kjisik – Standing Up for Ideals

For a good three decades now, Trevor Harris and Hennu Kjisik have been running an architecture firm named after themselves, yielding thoughts and ideas concerning urban planning and architecture that have had an impact on almost every major urban area in Finland.

Article

Private Public Private

In mid-century USA, Victor Gruen developed the shopping mall, a typology that still raises questions on how contemporary cities should be designed. Antti Auvinen and Kristian Äijö explore the phenomenon.

Article

Excursions Into Suburban Density

Density is a buzzword in current public discussions on urbanity, but what does the concept actually mean? ask professors of the USP Master's Programme.

Article

Megaprojects — A Recipe for Mega Success?

If Finland’s second largest city region is serious about growing its economy, Tampere will need to balance its focus between the needs of the urban economy and the high-profile construction projects for which it has become known, Jenni Partanen suggests.

Project Review

Miracle of the Mundane

Photo Timo Kiukkola A waste collection station has been built in Kruunuvuorenranta in Helsinki. The waste from this new neighbourhood will be collected by vacuum tubes and packed tightly in containers to await transportation and final processing elsewhere.

Project Review

Small Gestures

Photo Tuomas Uusheimo Playa Architects designed three point blocks in Kruunuvuorenranta, Helsinki. They made Antti Auvinen think about the nature of urbanity.

Project Review

Where the Suburbs met Utopia*

The architectural office Ortraum designed a detatched house in Laajasalo, Helsinki. The somewhat experimental home makes Philip Tidwell think about everyday life sites and the urban periphery.

Project Review

Archetype

The University of Helsinki’s old administration building was in need of renovation and thus a suitable venue for comprehensive change, when the university was looking for a place to organise events. Think Corner is a successful new model for a currently emerging building type, says Tommy Kaj Lindgren.

Article

Feminism as an Instrument

In the 2010s feminism is not merely an issue of women's movement but rather seeks a broader understanding of identities. Instead of generalisation, the starting point for planning is the spectrum of real communities and individuals, Marja Rautaharju writes.