The Museum of Finnish Architecture (MFA) has been hosting such exhibitions of the best new buildings since 1953. Initially, they were held every five years and were called "Suomi rakentaa" - "Finland is building", and at their opening days one could meet the country's largest political figures (after Helsinki, these traveling exhibitions were sometimes shown in the Moscow Museum of Architecture - approx. Archi.ru). However, times have changed, and the most important thing was the promptness of displaying and publishing buildings. Since 2004, the name and format have changed: the exhibition turned into a "biennale", that is, it began to be held every two years, and this continues to this day.
This summer, the ten best buildings from the 2012/13 cycle are on display at the museum, and the jury also awarded 10 honorable mentions. To the judgment of the jury members - Finnish architects Sari Schulman and Marko Kivistö and a foreign expert
Jenny Osuldsen, landscape architect from the Snøhetta bureau - about a hundred buildings were presented, from which the "exhibits" were selected.
The exhibition will be shown at the MFA during the summer, and then it will go on a tour of different countries, showcasing the best image of Finland abroad. The exposition consists of five long and wide parallel tables, each of which presents two buildings. On the walls there are materials on 10 objects with incentive prizes and on 10 bureaus - the authors of the best buildings.
The exhibition design, which was in charge of Philip Tidwell, is elegant and calm. The five white tables are reminiscent of old Finnish farms, where a long table with benches was often the main piece of furniture. Layouts, great photographs and small drawings and drawings can be viewed while sitting on the classic Aalto stool. A film about the top ten is shown in the next room, and in the main space it is also shown - only without sound, so as not to interfere with viewing the exposition. On the Internet you can see virtual version of the exhibition.
Selected buildings include the excellent Kaisa Library of the University of Helsinki, the stunning Saunalahti School in Espoo, and a very simple wooden summer house in the historic province of Savo, designed by the architect Seppo Häkli and built by a skilled carpenter. Unsurprisingly, the new library building in Seinäjoki Asmo Jaxi and JKMM also made it to the top 10: it is an international quality building in the small province of Ostrobothnia, a city known primarily for its Aalto-designed community center.
Also among the "laureates" was the unusually skillful modernization of Alvar Aalto's "House of Culture" in Helsinki, carried out by NRT Architects. The 1950s building, with its innovative organic forms, has not changed its function until now, so the renovation should have been virtually invisible. The jury also noted the Chengdu Shadow Church by architect Vesa Honkonen. Finland is no longer a leader in residential construction, but the Kaanaankatu residential complex in Helsinki by Huttunen-Pakkanen-Lipasti is also among the best. Among the “encouraged” projects there is another residential facility, but the choice of this flashy apartment building for young people leaves the observer bewildered. On the contrary, all three single-family houses on display are examples of excellent design for private clients. In turn, K2S, a trend-setter among young architects, has designed a floating headquarters for Arctia Shipping.
The abandoned machine shop of the Finnish Railways in Turku has been turned into a Logomo cultural and conference center by the architect Pekka Vapaavuori. At one time, he unexpectedly became famous for everyone, having won the competition for the project of the Estonian Museum of Art (KUMU), and now this work has also been noticed by colleagues and the jury of the exhibition.
Last but not least, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, a fantastic building in Warsaw designed by Lahdelma & Mahlamäki. The external appearance of the building is very simple, almost modest, but the main space inside is absolutely amazing, one might say - it takes your breath away. This building fits well into a series of excellent foreign buildings, proving that Finnish architecture is not losing ground - even outside the country.
This selection is, of course, the decision of a particular jury: other judges would have preferred other buildings.
I was very surprised that the authors of the accompanying film, Jonni Roos and Raimo Uunila, chose only men for the interview inserts - with one exception. In this sense, the film shows a somewhat distorted panorama of Finnish architecture and its creators: most of the selected buildings were created by leading bureaus with the participation of women - partners or project team members, architects or interior designers. In the case of the Kaisa Library, a woman was in charge of the project on a very complex site, and another woman was the client's architect in charge of the project. The film presents us with a picture of architecture as a predominantly male profession, which is completely wrong in relation to Finland.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalog in English with articles from the organizers, jury members and experts.
