Reima and Raili Pietilä
Encyclopedia
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. He did most of his work together with his wife Raili Pietilä (born 15 August 1926).
Reima Pietilä was professor of architecture at the University of Oulu
University of Oulu
The University of Oulu is one of the largest universities in Finland, located in the city of Oulu. It was founded on July 8, 1958. The university has around 16,000 students and 3,000 staff...
from 1973 to 1979.
The life and career of Reima Pietilä has been well charted in the writings of British architectural historian-critics Roger Connah
Roger Connah
Roger Connah is a writer, independent scholar and researcher based in Ruthin, North Wales, and has taught for over three decades in Finland, India, Pakistan, Sweden, Canada and the USA. Connah studied architecture at Bristol University and Jesus College, Cambridge...
and Malcolm Quantrill, as well as Norwegian theorist and historian Christian Norberg-Schulz
Christian Norberg-Schulz
Christian Norberg-Schulz was a Norwegian architect, architectural historian and theorist.He was born in Oslo. He is the father of singer Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz....
. Their basic question is to what extent Pietilä goes against the grain of a Finnish modernist architecture concerned with rationalism and economy. The whole question is problematic, however, because Finland's most famous architect, Alvar Aalto
Alvar Aalto
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware...
, was also seen as someone who broke the mould of pure modernism, someone who indeed talked about extending the notion of rationalism. Pietilä saw his work as organic architecture
Organic architecture
Organic architecture is a philosophy of architecture which promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world through design approaches so sympathetic and well integrated with its site that buildings, furnishings, and surroundings become part of a unified, interrelated...
, but also very much modern. Pietilä intellectualised his position, and was well-read in philosophy. He was very much concerned with the issue of a phenomenology
Phenomenology (architecture)
Phenomenology is both a philosophical design current in contemporary architecture and a specific field of academic research, based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties....
of place, epitomised by the Student Union building Dipoli (1961–66) at Helsinki University of Technology. This concern for place also extended to his concerns about national identity and Finnishness, even exploring the Finnish language to generate architectural form. The same then applied also for his works abroad, in Kuwait and Delhi.
A major exhibition of the work of Reima and Raili Pietilä was held in 2008 (from 27 February to 25 May)
at the Museum of Finnish Architecture
Museum of Finnish Architecture
The Museum of Finnish Architecture is an architectural museum in Helsinki, Finland. Established in 1956, it is the second oldest museum of its kind devoted specifically to architecture...
in Helsinki, titled Raili and Reima Pietilä. Challenging Modern Architecture.
Their daughter and only child Annukka Pietilä (born 1963), is also a qualified architect.
Life and Works
Significant buildings
- 1956–1958 Finnish pavilionPavilion (structure)In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
at the BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
World's FairWorld's FairWorld's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
http://expomuseum.com/1958/ - 1959–1966 The Kaleva ChurchKaleva ChurchKaleva Church is a church located in Kaleva, Tampere, Finland, and designed by Reima and Raili Pietilä. It was built in 1964–1966.- External links :*...
in TampereTampereTampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
http://www.tampereenseurakunnat.fi/kirkot/IE/p7.htm - 1961–1966 DipoliDipoliDipoli is a conference center located in Otaniemi, Espoo, Finland as a part of the campus of the Helsinki University of Technology ....
student assembly building in OtaniemiOtaniemiOtaniemi , or Otnäs , is a district of Espoo, Finland. It is located near the border of Helsinki, the capital of Finland....
EspooEspooEspoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
http://www.dipoli.tkk.fi/english/index.html - 1962–1982 Suvikumpu residential area in TapiolaTapiolaTapiola or Hagalund is a district of Espoo on the south coast of Finland, and is one of the major urban centres of Espoo...
EspooEspooEspoo is the second largest city and municipality in Finland. The population of the city of Espoo is . It is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki and Vantaa, while enclosing Kauniainen....
http://housingprototypes.org/project?File_No=FIN004 - 1963–1985 Finnish embassy in New DelhiNew DelhiNew Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... - 1973–1975 the saunaSaunaA sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....
at HvitträskHvitträskHvitträsk was designed to be a studio home for the members of the Finnish architecture firm Gesellius, Lindgren, and Saarinen. It later became the private residence of Eliel Saarinen. It is located about west of Helsinki in Kirkkonummi, Finland....
in KirkkonummiKirkkonummiKirkkonummi is a municipality of inhabitants in southern Finland. The literal meaning of the words "Kirkkonummi" and "Kyrkslätt" in English is "church moor"....
http://www.nba.fi/en/hvittrask_en - 1973–1982 Sief Palace Area Buildings in Kuwait CityKuwait City-Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...
KuwaitKuwaitThe State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
http://www.kolumbus.fi/johannes.turunen/ark_reima.html - 1978–1986 Metso, city of TampereTampereTampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
main library http://www.tampere.fi/kirjasto/english.htm, in which the Moomin MuseumMoomin MuseumMoomin Valley is situated in the city of Tampere, Finland. In the Moomin Valley Museum you can see original illustrations made by Tove Jansson , 40 miniatures, tableaux about Moomin events and a small Moomin House...
is situated - 1979–1982 Lieksa Church in LieksaLieksaLieksa is a town and municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
northern KareliaKareliaKarelia , the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden...
http://personal.inet.fi/koti/urho.virkkunen/kuvat/Nahtavyys/slides/Lieksan%20kirkko.html - 1979–1989 Shopping center and community center in HervantaHervantaHervanta is a large suburb, or satellite city, of Tampere in Finland, located next to Hallila some 10 km south of the city centre.Home to a population of over 26,000, Hervanta is best known for its prefabricated blocks of flats. The total number of apartments is about 11,000...
TampereTampereTampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in... - 1984–1993 MäntyniemiMäntyniemiMäntyniemi , is one of the three official residences of the President of Finland besides the Presidential Palace and Kultaranta. Mäntyniemi was finished in 1993...
, Residency of the Finnish presidentPresident of FinlandThe President of the Republic of Finland is the nation's head of state. Under the Finnish constitution, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people of Finland for a term of six years....
in HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
External links
- Reima and Raili Pietiläs architecture in Tampere
- Creativity permitted?
- List of works by Reima and Raili Pietilä at the Dipoli site (in FinnishFinnish languageFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
) - "The Architects" at the Tampere library site (in FinnishFinnish languageFinnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
)