Roger Connah
Encyclopedia
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
. In 1974 he moved to Helsinki
, Finland to study the work of architect Reima Pietilä, and worked in the office of Reima and Raili Pietilä
until 1985.
Connah has specialized in Finnish architecture and society, and has written numerous books on the subject, in particular on the life and works of architects Reima and Raili Pietilä
and film director Aki Kaurismäki
. Among his many publications is the book on Pietilä, Writing Architecture - Fantomas, Fragments, Fictions (An Architectural Journey through the Twentieth Century) (1989) which was awarded First Prize in the International Book Award in Architectural Theory and Criticism 1987-90 by CICA, The International Union of Architectural Critics. Connah has also held and curated exhibitions, including 'KHAM' (Delhi, 1986) and 'Seven Famous Raincoats and a Moygashel' (1984). His films include ‘Involuntary Architecture’ (2005, with John Maruszczak).
In October 2008 Connah, together with John Maruszczak (and assisted by Ryan Manning), won first prize in the White House
Redux competition; the competition invited people to design a new residence for the President of the USA. In the competition, the best ideas, designs, descriptions, images, and videos for a new White House
were selected by some of the world's most distinguished designers and critics and during October 2008 were on display at the Storefront for Art and Architecture
, which, in association with Control Group, sponsored the contest. Connah and Maruszczak beat off more than 500 other participants to win the competition. They stated that their submission was "an architectural folk-tale for the future, a hybrid representation using unusual poetics and a provocatively dislocated new media."
Ruthin
Ruthin is a community and the county town of Denbighshire in north Wales. Located around a hill in the southern part of the Vale of Clwyd - the older part of the town, the castle and Saint Peter's Square are located on top of the hill, while many newer parts of the town are on the floodplain of...
, North Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and has taught for over three decades in Finland
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...
, India
India
India , 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...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the USA. Connah studied architecture at Bristol University and Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
. In 1974 he moved to Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki 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...
, Finland to study the work of architect Reima Pietilä, and worked in the office of Reima and Raili Pietilä
Reima and Raili Pietilä
Reima Pietilä was a Finnish architect. He did most of his work together with his wife Raili Pietilä .Reima Pietilä was professor of architecture at the University of Oulu from 1973 to 1979....
until 1985.
Connah has specialized in Finnish architecture and society, and has written numerous books on the subject, in particular on the life and works of architects Reima and Raili Pietilä
Reima and Raili Pietilä
Reima Pietilä was a Finnish architect. He did most of his work together with his wife Raili Pietilä .Reima Pietilä was professor of architecture at the University of Oulu from 1973 to 1979....
and film director Aki Kaurismäki
Aki Kaurismäki
-Career:After studying Media Studies at the University of Tampere, Aki Kaurismäki started his career as a co-director in the films of his elder brother Mika Kaurismäki. His debut as an independent director was Crime and Punishment , Dostoyevsky's famous crime story set in modern-day Helsinki...
. Among his many publications is the book on Pietilä, Writing Architecture - Fantomas, Fragments, Fictions (An Architectural Journey through the Twentieth Century) (1989) which was awarded First Prize in the International Book Award in Architectural Theory and Criticism 1987-90 by CICA, The International Union of Architectural Critics. Connah has also held and curated exhibitions, including 'KHAM' (Delhi, 1986) and 'Seven Famous Raincoats and a Moygashel' (1984). His films include ‘Involuntary Architecture’ (2005, with John Maruszczak).
In October 2008 Connah, together with John Maruszczak (and assisted by Ryan Manning), won first prize in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
Redux competition; the competition invited people to design a new residence for the President of the USA. In the competition, the best ideas, designs, descriptions, images, and videos for a new White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
were selected by some of the world's most distinguished designers and critics and during October 2008 were on display at the Storefront for Art and Architecture
Storefront for Art and Architecture
' is a contemporary art and architecture institution founded in 1982 in New York City.-Background:Founded in 1982 by Kyong Park, Storefront for Art and Architecture is a nonprofit organization in New York City committed to the advancement of innovative positions in architecture, art and design...
, which, in association with Control Group, sponsored the contest. Connah and Maruszczak beat off more than 500 other participants to win the competition. They stated that their submission was "an architectural folk-tale for the future, a hybrid representation using unusual poetics and a provocatively dislocated new media."
Published books
- Writing Architecture - Fantomas, Fragments, Fictions. An Architectural Journey through the Twentieth Century. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1989.
- K/K. A Couple of Finns & Some Donald Ducks - Cinema in Society. PK, Helsinki 1991.
- The End of Finnish Architecture - Or CIAO Potemkin! The Building Institute, Helsinki, 1994.
- Tango Mäntyniemi. Edita, Helsinki 1994.
- Slogan - Aphorisms. Painatuskeskus, Helsinki, 1994.
- Welcome to the Hotel Architecture. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1998.
- Centro Dipoli, Reima Pietilä. Universale di Architettura Torino, Testo & Imagine 42, Torino, 1998.
- Grace and Architecture. Building Information Ltd, Helsinki, 1998.
- Sa(l)vaged Modernism. Building Information Ltd, Helsinki, 2000.
- Aaltomania. Readings Against Aalto? Building Information Ltd, Helsinki, 2000.
- Zahoor Ul Akhlaq. The Enigma of Departure & Post-Mortem. Laal, Toronto, 2000.
- How Architecture got its Hump. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 2001
- 40/40 Young Finnish Architects. Building Information Ltd, Helsinki, 2002
- Finland - Modern Architectures in History. Reaktion Books, London, 2005.
- The Piglet Years: The Lost Militancy in Finnish Architecture. Datutop, Tampere, 2007.