Construction work taking place in front of the museum. Main entrance at Korkeavuorenkatu and the accessible entrance via the inner courtyard remain open and in normal use.
In May 1995, an exhibition titled Animal Architecture opened at the Museum of Finnish Architecture (now the Architecture & Design Museum Helsinki). It became one of the museum’s most beloved exhibitions of all time. We invited the exhibition’s designer, Professor Juhani Pallasmaa, to reflect on what animal architecture means today. The exhibition Animal Architecture was on view at the Museum of Finnish Architecture from 1 September to 30 October 2022.
This video was originally published November 2022
Juhani Pallasmaa (ed.), Animal Architecture, Museum of Finnish Architecture, 1995.
Interviewer: Alonzo Heino Filming and editing: Anni Koponen Sound design and music: Alonzo Heino Production: Jutta Tynkkynen Filmed in August 2022
Publication: Juhani Pallasmaa (ed.), Animal Architecture, Museum of Finnish Architecture, 1995.
Additional Footage:
Anni Koponen; Giant Water Lily / Scott Zona; Spider Weaving a Web / Michael Herren, Pexels; Spider in Its Web / Thomas Ritter, Pixabay; Bees / Ruslan Khmelevsky, Pexels; Bees on Honeycomb / MemorySlashVision, Pexels; Termites / nesdeisgn, Videezy; Termite Mound / Herbert Bieser, Pixabay.
Photo: From the exhibition Animal Architecture, 1995
Architecture Outside the Box 2023–2024: Towards Community-Led and Genuinely Participatory Audience Engagement
Project report, 2026
Architecture Outside the Box was a community-led audience engagement pilot project carried out by the Architecture & Design Museum between 2023 and 2024. The project aimed to explore the possibilities of genuine participation in museum practice and to develop models for collaboration with local communities beyond the museum building.
The project consisted of research, a working group assembled through an open call, an experimental project, and a process of reflection and evaluation. During the research phase, the museum’s existing audiences were mapped, underrepresented groups were identified, and the needs and aspirations of communities in the Helsinki metropolitan area were examined.
The findings showed that the museum’s audiences are concentrated within certain demographic groups and that, for many people, the museum remains a distant or unfamiliar institution. Based on the research, a diverse working group was formed through an open call to pilot community-led approaches. The work focused on co-design, shared decision-making, and creating space for participants’ own perspec- tives and priorities. The project’s practical outcome was a benchbuilding workshop in which local residents built benches for shared public use in different locations across the metropolitan area. The project’s most significant contribution lies in the knowledge gained about how community-led museum work is built in practice. It requires time, trust-building, critical reflection on institutional power, and a willingness to adapt established museum practices. At the same time, the project demonstrated that participatory methods can foster new connections, meaningful experiences, and shared expertise. The project also adapted a version of the Ladder of Participation for the museum field, providing a tool that can be applied to all museum work carried out in collaboration with communities and diverse groups. The aim of this publication is to share these lessons widely within the museum field and beyond, while offering practical examples and methods for developing more participatory, inclusive, and community-led ways of
The 1960s and 1970s are remembered as a period when an unprecedented number of buildings were demolished in Finland. It has since been described as the most intensive period of demolition, from which even Neo-Renaissance and Art Nouveau buildings – now widely regarded as valuable cultural heritage – were not spared. There was talk of the ‘Turku disease’, and areas such as Puu-Käpylä in Helsinki and Pispala in Tampere would have been lost had it not been for various groups of citizens and the architectural community rising up to oppose what seemed an inevitable trend.
In her article, Maire Mattinen examines this period in Finnish architectural history, which also led to the protection of buildings, as well as that of wider neighbourhoods and industrial environments, gaining legal status and becoming an established part of the development of the built environment. The article is highly topical, as the pace of demolition in Finland in the 2020s has been even more intense than it was 50 years ago. At the end of his article, Mattinen asks: ‘In the midst of today’s demolition frenzy, how can we draw on the experiences of the 1970s to avoid going too far?
Should we not learn from how, at that time, we managed to curb the wave of demolition whilst operating under the threat of an energy crisis and recession, and from the realisation that our existing everyday environment is a valuable resource, even if this appreciation is not yet widely shared?’
The Architecture and Design Museum Helsinki is publishing this article to honour the life’s work of Maire Mattinen, who passed away suddenly on 8 September 2025, in the field of building conservation. The article was previously published in the museum’s book A Decade of Change: Everyday Life, Ideals and Architecture in 1970s Finland in 2023.