Archinect - News

A Finnish architect unveils a new cottage design before stepping into the Olympics spotlight

2021-07-15T19:06:00-04:00

A Finnish architect with hopes for Olympic gold has unveiled her designs for a new log villa whose inspiration she says came to her during training for this year’s games in Tokyo.

Finland-based manufacturer HONKA is now offering an Olympic windsurfer’s designs for a cottage as part of a series of cost-efficient log villas tailored to cold archipelago environments.

Honka Tyrsky. Image courtesy Honka.

Tuuli Petäjä-Sirén is a practicing architect and Olympic silver medalist who previously served as standard-bearer for her country during the 2016 opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. Her new Tyrsky model evokes waves at crest breaking onto shore in the seaside fishing villages where she had trained.

Honka Tyrsky. Image courtesy Honka.

The 1.5-story cabin is packed with high ceilings, a built-in sauna, and multipurpose mezzanine built from timber logs that enhance an ecological focus that has defined Petäjä-Sirén’s previous work. Two and three-bedroom versions of the home are available th...

Requiem - Lahdelma & Mahlmäki’s Museum for the Defense and Siege of Leningrad

2018-01-16T23:44:00-05:00

Lahdelma & Mahalmäki Architects have unveiled Requiem, their competition proposal for the Museum for the Defense and Siege of Leningrad, St. Petersburg. The project was undertaken in partnership with Ralph Appelbaum Associates who, together, formed the only international team amongst the four final designs. The design sees an elegant spiral, buried in the landscape, reaching up from the exhibitions which are buried in a vast cavern underground. The route corkscrews out the top of the riverside, reaching outwards to give views over the new St. Petersburg.

Images credit to: Brick Visuals

The Museum for the Defense and Siege of Leningrad and its several components form a powerful spatial composition, connecting to the character and history of the city. The Thread of Life, the Memorial of Heroes of Leningrad and the Square of Testimony all sit against the backdrop of a newly created tranquil river side park.

Images credit to: Brick Visuals

The ‘Thread of Life’ refers to the museum and ex...

Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects open Easton, a New Home for Local Food and Social Culture in Helsinki

2017-10-26T13:45:00-04:00

Easton Helsinki, a shopping centre by Lahdelma & Mahlamäki in Itäkeskus, Helsinki, opened its doors to the public today. The 66,000m2 development is the first phase in a larger urban plan and looks to celebrate the identity and culture of Helsinki’s eastern districts. The project idealistically and physically centres itself around food, bringing together local vendors and businesses at the heart of the shopping centre; at the same time introducing in a much more varied commercial programme around this. Whilst become a beacon to those on the motorway, the shopping centre takes a much more calm approach when viewed from the street, with its gently undulating façade of ceramic tiles taking on the local red-brick aesthetic and sitting comfortably within the urban scale.

Easton offers 30,000 m2 of commercial floor space which is set to bring 40 businesses into the area, with the emphasis being put on healthy foods and creating an everyday social atmosphere around this. The more varied co...