Tommi Lindh, director of the Alvar Aalto Foundation, shares four exciting reasons to enjoy the architectural offerings of Finland this summer.
Architecture hasn't been this intensively represented in the Finnish summer events ever. The whole summer is full of nice places to visit, but what makes August so very special is what's happening in Helsinki and Jyväskylä in the beginning of the month. The Alvar Aalto Symposium kicks off with lectures by the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki on Wednesday, August 5 and continues to Jyväskylä where the main event starts on Friday, August 7 with the first thematic session and a keynote presentation by Liu Xiaodu of Urbanus.
The triennial symposium is an international forum for discussion on contemporary architecture and it is now organized for the 13th time. This year the symposAium is chaired by Anssi Lassila of OOPEAA and the theme is DO! We dive into the world of doing and open up the process of creating architecture from the perspectives of LOCAL, SOCIAL, DIGITAL and MATERIAL as architects from around the worldgather to share what inspires them in creating architecture.
The Symposium continues on Saturday, August 8 with three more sessions and keynotes. Henriette Vamberg of Jan Gehl Architects and Greg Lynn will be there as well as Hiroshi Nakamura. During a reception at the Alvar Aalto Museum the guests have the possibility to see a unique exhibition on Alvar, Aino and Elissa Aalto's summer cottages titled 'La dolce vita – Summer Paradises by Alvar Aalto.'
The Alvar Aalto Museum building together with the neighboring Museum of Central Finland were designed by Alvar Aalto himself in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. During a future renovation the two museum buildings will be attached together with a new connecting wing. This was already sketched by Aalto but never realized. There's and international ideas competition going on now to find a suitable architectonic solution for the new connecting part. During the Symposium guests have the possibility to see the competition area and have time until October 30th to submit their entry.
Sunday starts and the Symposium ends with a brunch panel discussion moderated by David Basulto of ArchDaily. Traveling from Helsinki to Jyväskylä and back is a great opportunity to see some very interesting contemporary Finnish architecture and, of course, many of the Alvar Aalto classics.
So what makes this Summer in Finland the best so far for an architecture enthusiast? They are the four occasions mentioned above: The 13th International Alvar Aalto Symposium with a fresh approach to doing architecture, the Alvar Aalto Museum’s beloved Summer Paradises exhibition, a competition on designing new architecture between two of Aalto's masterpieces, and last but not least a chance to enjoy contemporary architecture together with the renowned classics in the purity of the Finnish nature.
Welcome to Finland this August!
