Brick masterpiece

This great brick building is in Duisburg, Germany and it houses the NRW State Archive, which will become the largest archive in Germany. The house shaped tower has been built on top of an old warehouse structure. The unusual building is designed by Ortner & Ortner of Germany and Austria.

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Erilaiset tiilipinnat ovat viime aikoina alkaneet miellyttää silmää ja sattumalta löytyi maailmalta tämä aivan mieletön tiilirakennus. Kyseessä on Saksan suurimpiin kuuluva kansallisarkisto Duisburgissa. Upean tiilisen lisärakennuksen vanhan  tehdasrakennuksen päälle on suunnitellut Saksalais-Itävaltalainen arkkitehtitoimisto Ortner & Ortner ja uuden osan tiilipinta on tehty vanhaa mukaillen. Wau, sanon minä!

Woody 35

If I would be in need of a new summer home, I would like Marianne Borge's Woody 35. 

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Jos tarvitsisin kesämökin niin tämän ottaisin mieluusti. Norjalaisen Marianne Borgen 35-neliön Woody-mökkiin mahtuu kaikki tarpeellinen. 

Paimio Sanatorium

Paimio Sanatorium is a former tuberculosis hospital in Paimio and designed by Alvar Aalto. I had a chance to visit the place recently and it sure was an intriguing visit. The white hospital building was completed in 1932 and it is now known as one of Aalto's main works. His starting point for the design was to make the building itself a contributor to the healing process. I couldn't agree more: The building is surrounded by peaceful pine forests and inside the bright colours, big windows and well planned details make it a much nicer hospital. 

At the moment it is uncertain what will happen to Paimio Sanatorium in the future but let's hope it will keep releasing it's healing powers for next generations too. And if you are ever in the neighborhood, take a tour to hear all stories behind the architecture!

Co-create with Lego

I went to see the white Lego towers made by Icelandic-Danish architect group Krads. The towers are smaller than I expected but nevertheless impressive. If you have time, make a trip to Cable factory to see them. The towers made me wonder where to get only white Lego blocks?  I was told that at least Lego-shop in Copenhagen sells all colours separately.

Co-create with Lego at Cable Factory, Helsinki 12.-16.9.2012

Sandworm

Sandworm is an organic art piece and space on the dunes of the Wenduine coastline in Belgium. It is created by Finnish environmental artist and architect Marco Casagrande and build together with young architects and local experts. The 45 meters long and 10 meters wide installation is constructed entirely out of willow.

Helsinki 2020

I took part in a panel discussion the other day. The topic was how do we live in Helsinki 2020. It was a very interesting talk and I'm happy that Helsinki is actively looking for different housing possibilities. The discussion was part of the exhibition currently on display at Laituri. It shows eight already realized urban housing cases from cities across world and scale models of dream homes that are based on the interviews with Helsinki citizens. Who knows, maybe we also have a chance to live in urban townhouses or floating homes in the near future!

From the top: Fahle house in Tallinn, Susd Highwood court townhouses in London, Floating houses in Amsterdam and loft in Seattle. The last photo is a scale model of future apartment by Tuomas Toivonen and  Nene Tsuboi.

Stadin asuntomessut 2020, Laituri, Narinkka 2, Helsinki, 27.3-28.4.2012.