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People — 1.4.2024

In Helsinki, There Are Several Neighbourhoods Where You Can Hardly See White – “The Role of the Colours Is to Welcome the Visitor”

Architect Suvi Tyynilä wanted Helsinki's Kuninkaantammi and Honkasuo districts to be warm, homely and communal places. Colours played an important role in achieving it.

People — 1.4.2024

Lighting Is Viewed from a Far Too Technical Perspective, Says Lighting Designer Roope Siiroinen – “Better Suited for Use Would Be Terminology Related to Photography”

Lighting can be used to fine-tune the building to look better, says lighting designer Roope Siiroinen.

People — 1.4.2024

Colour Design is Like Fire Control, Says Professor Pentti Kareoja – “Helsinki’s Jätkäsaari District, for Example, Would Have Benefited From Stricter Guidelines”

Professor Pentti Kareoja believes that comprehensive guidelines are needed for the colour planning of urban environments.

People — 1.4.2024

Colour and Materials Designer Anni Rantasalo: What Is More Important Than Colour Is How the Paint Is Produced And What Ingredients It Contains

For colour and materials designer Anni Rantasalo, colour comes from materials. “Colours actually play a surprisingly small role in my day-to-day work”, master painter and colour and materials designer Anni Rantasalo says.

Research — 1.4.2024

Short Syllabus in Colour Research

The research-based colour design is weakly known in Finland. Colour researcher Saara Pyykkö shares her insights on what an architect should know about colour.

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?

Opinion Piece — 1.4.2024

Something Old, New and Borrowed – But Do We Have Anything Blue?

The urban planners working on Tampere’s new colour plan would be wise to look to earlier examples for guidance.

Book — 1.4.2024

About Style, With Style

19th-century writings add to the reinterpretations of modern architecture. For example, a call for contemporary architecture that embodies a new era in a fashion that stands out from previous design styles has been reiterated the mid-19th century, all the way up to the present.

Book — 1.4.2024

The First European Women Architects

The double biography on two women architects opens up a window into the work of architects and gender equality in late 19th and early 20th century society and architectural practice.

Book — 1.4.2024

A City Seen Through Colour

Aziza Lo's visual maps not only document the colours of neighborhoods but also experiencing them.

Project Review — 1.4.2024

Spirit of the 1980s

The premises of the Supreme Administrative Court have been updated to meet current needs, but the 1980s atmosphere is also very much present.

Project Review — 1.4.2024

Three Little Coloured Blocks

Photo: Tuomas Uusheimo The Kirjailijakortteli city block, located in Helsinki’s Meilahti district, is comprised of three residential buildings that play with colours and materials. Located in the centre of three streets, Mannerheiminite, Topeliuksenkatu and Stenbäckinkatu, there is a wedge-shaped plot.

Project Review — 1.4.2024

A First Step in Housing

Photo: Mika Huisman The student apartments in Korttelikylä are spacious, light-filled and well-functioning. Student housing is often associated with images of ghettos and social problems due to the high concentration of residents and a socioeconomic homogeneity.

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?

Case Study — 1.3.2024

The People’s Theatre

In the 1930s, P.E. Blomstedt designed a theatre in Hakaniemi, Helsinki. Reading between the lines of an illustration drawing reveals the world view behind the design and the designer.