Check out the new book on the Oulu School of Architecture.
The Oulu School of Architecture — Reverberations reflects on the legacy of the Oulu School of Architecture and its relevance to the practice of architecture today, 50 years after the emergence of the movement in the 1980s.
To mark the launch of the publication, a panel discussion was held at the Proto Design Center in Oulu today. Thank you to all the panelists and the moderator for a great discussion on the topic. And thank you also to the audience for active participation!
For more information, visit our homepage at OOPEAA.com
To mark the start of the construction phase of Konsthall Torhedalen, we are celebrating it with a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony today. The project has been on the drawing board for a long time and I am delighted to see it getting
I am looking forward to seeing the new house for the arts in the Tornedalen River Valley take shape.
Thank you to Anfra along with all our collaborators and supporters! Special thanks to Gunhild Stensmyr, the initiator of the project and for Theodore Ringborg, Director of Konsthall Tornedalen and the board of Konsthall Tornedalen. @konsthalltornedalen@oopeaa@anfra_oy
After a busy year with many inspiring projects, it is time again to pause for a moment and enjoy time with family and friends during the holidays. We want to express our heartfelt thanks to all our clients, collaborators, and to all the members of our team. It has been great to work together with all of you during this year!
Wishing you all a peaceful holiday time and all the best for the coming year 2026!
Lastu Education Building has been nominated for the 2026 edition of @eumieswards .
We want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone involved in the process and working together with us to make a building that responds to the needs of contemporary methods of teaching and learning and provides a space for the entire local community to share.
In creating Lastu, the goal was to make a place for the students and the local community where people can feel good. From the first steps of sketching, the design process was informed by an ongoing dialogue with the future users. Kirkkopalvelut as the client and Arkta Rakennuskultti as the builder were great partners for us in the process.
It makes us happy to see how well the building has been received by its community of users. It is truly in active use on each day of the week and at all times of the day throughout the year.
For more information on the Lastu Education Building, see HERE: /portfolio/lastu-new-addition-to-the-step-professional-training-center/
For the announcement of the nominated project for the EU Mies Award 2026, see HERE: /architecture-emerging/the-410-nominees/
#Nominees #EUmiesAwards2026 #Architecture #Emerging #educationbuildings #stepopisto #järvenpää #timberbuilding
The plan for Jyväskylän Ratapihan Siltakorttelit, the ‘Jyväskylä Bridge Blocks’, has been approved as the basis for developing a new neighborhood that will bridge the city center and the Lutakko district together into one continuous downtown area.
Weaving the two separate parts of town into a continuous urban fabric, the new addition will also activate the area around the railway station and the travel center. The block will provide facilities for a diverse program of functions from green spaces and parks to a campus for education buildings, retail spaces, premises for businesses and offices along with housing and student housing. Special emphasis has been placed on creating safe and functional pedestrian and bicycle routes that ensure good accessibility to the new block from both the city center and Lutakko sides.
The plan has been developed by OOPEAA in collaboration with the City of Jyväskylä @jyvaskylankaupunki and A-insinöörit Suunnittelu @a_insinoorit who have been responsible for the transportation planning, feasibility study and structures.
Image by @widevisuals
For a press release by the City of Jyväskylä in Finnish, read HERE. https://www.jyvaskyla.fi/uutinen/2025-11-04_tayden-kympin-keskusta-taydellistyy-suunnitteilla-olevat-jyvaskylan-ratapihan-siltakorttelit
For more information on the plan for Siltakorttelit, you can find the project description HERE. /siltakorttelit-connecting-two-neighborhoods-in-the-city/
#jyvaskyla #lutakko #future #urbanplanning #urbandevelopment #oopeaa #a_insnoorit #ratapihansiltakorttelit
Thank you again Japan!
So many inspiring meetings and such exciting discussions touching a rich variety of perspectives and topics. And always interesting new places and experiences! Thank you all for your generosity and welcoming warmth!
I am looking forward to keeping in touch and continuing the conversation and collaboration with okd and new friends and partners in Japan!
Anssi Lassila is speaking at @expo2025japan on October 4, 2025 in the Finland Sauna Conference in the Nordic Pavilion @nordicexpo2025osaka
In his talk, Anssi Lassila will share his broad range of experience in designing saunas. The all day summit is part of the program of the Nordic Circle at the expo.
For more information on the Nordic Pavilion and the Nordic Circle project, see HERE.
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#expo2025japan #sauna #nordicexpo2025osaka
Anssi Lassila is giving a lecture on the Potential of Wooden Structures in Architecture Today in the Timber Architecture Now seminar at @aaltouniversity on May 5, 2025 at 13:00 – 16:00 (UTC +3).
The seminar focuses on contemporary developments in timber architecture. In his lecture, Anssi Lassila will discuss the potential of wooden structures in architecture today. He will draw from his personal experience in building with wood. To provide examples, he will cover a range of projects with different types of wooden structures and materials.
The lectures will be held in English.
For more information about the seminar, visit https://www.aalto.fi/en/events/timber-architecture-now
#oopeaa #AaltoUniversity #timberarchitecture #woodenstructures #lectures #future
OOPEAA’s Sauna for Villa Koivikko is highlighted in New York Times Magazine in a feature on Finnish saunas by Michael Snyder. Photos in this post by Angel Gil
In the article, Michael Snyder provides an overview of the tradition of sauna building in Finland from its early history to the contemporary time. He discusses the architecture of modern time saunas through examples from Alvar Aalto to Reima and Raili Pietilä. Saunas by OOPEAA, Mattila & Merz and Tuomas Silvennoinen of PES Architects are highlighted as contemporary examples.
Reflecting on the role of sauna buildings in Finnish culture, Snyder notes that ”Contemporary sweat baths reflect the country’s architectural past - and propose a future in which simple, sustainable buildings can still be sublime.”
Referring to Anssi Lassila’s characterization of the sauna experience as ‘mentally washing yourself’, Snyder writes: “Equality, shared responsibility, mutual support — these values, cultivated in the sauna, are as essential to Finland, and to its sustainable future, as timber itself. For, more than being a building or a place, the sauna is a ritual.”
The story was published in the online edition of the magazine on March 4, 2025. A version of the article appears in print on page 88 in the T Magazine with the headline: Forest Bathing published on March 9, 2025.
You can read the article “Can a Finnish Sauna Improve Society?” in the online edition of the New York Times Style Magazine HERE.
/2025/03/04/t-magazine/finland-sauna-architecture.html
