Finlandia Prize
The second year of the Finlandia Prize of Architecture is heralded by this new shortlist. The prize was founded in 2014 by the Finnish Association of Architecture, which awards “…contemporary Finnish architecture in recognizing new or renovated projects that exhibit a high caliber of design excellence completed in the last three years.” The prize is open to all architects and architectural firms, Finnish and non-Finnish, for a project built within Finland or abroad. “This year’s shortlist includes five distinct projects designed by architects representing several generations, from professionals working since the 1960s to the 2000s.”
The entries this year are similar in their considerate approaches to the context, namely facades on elevation, which makes for a standard shortlist. The string of similarity in each of the projects provides a sense of what the prize is about – a sombre, more polite architecture, which doesn’t necessarily mean boring. The winning project will have to stand out in poetically rather than visually as with many prizes, unlike a competition brief. The prize was snapped up by Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects in Warsaw in the previous year for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. The winning project for 2015 will be announced during the course of this year and picked by Finnish composer, Kaija Saariaho.
The shortlisted projects include:
Puukuokka in Kuokkala, Courtesy of Mikko Auerniitty
Puukuokka in Kuokkala, Jyväskylä by OOPEAA Office for Peripheral Architecture
OP House in Vallilat, Courtesy of Mika Huisman
OP House in Vallilat, Helsinki by JKMM Architects
Opinmäki School Complex, Courtesy of Antti Canth, Esa Ruskeepää Architects
Opinmäki School Complex, Espoo by Esa Ruskeepää Architects
Kangasala Art Center, Courtesy of Aukusti Heinonen
Kangasala Art Center by Heikkinen-Komonen Architects
Merenkulkijanranta in Lauttasaari, Courtesy of Antti Luutonen
Merenkulkijanranta in Lauttasaari, Helsinki by Arkkitehdit NRT Oy
by Thelma Ndebele
