Peter MacKeith to Speak at 'Annual Rings' Architecture Seminar at Embassy of Finland

Photo by Michelle Parks

"Annual Rings 1994-2014: A New Generation of Wood Architecture," an exhibition of contemporary Finnish architecture, was first displayed in the United States this spring in Vol Walker Hall. It is now on display through June 28 at the Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Peter MacKeith will take part in the "Annual Rings" architecture seminar Thursday, May 28, at the Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C.

MacKeith, dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture, and Juulia Kauste, director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki, Finland, will be the guest speakers. A general discussion will follow.

"Annual Rings 1994-2014: A New Generation of Wood Architecture" is an exhibition of contemporary Finnish architecture on display through June 28 at the Embassy of Finland. MacKeith was instrumental in arranging for the Fay Jones School to host this exhibition earlier this spring in Vol Walker Hall on the University of Arkansas campus, the first time it was presented in the United States.

MacKeith has lived and worked in Finland for many years. Before his recent 15-year tenure as a faculty member and administrator at Washington University in St. Louis, he was the director of the Master of Architecture - International Program at the Helsinki University of Technology (now Aalto University) in Finland.

MacKeith has worked in architecture and design practices in both the United States and Finland, notably with the renowned Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa. He has written, lectured and published extensively in the United States, Finland, and other Nordic countries on modern and contemporary Finnish and Nordic architecture.

In 2012, MacKeith was the curator and designer of "Light Houses: On the Nordic Common Ground," the exhibition of contemporary Nordic architecture at the Nordic Pavilion at the 13th Venice Architecture Biennale.

MacKeith was the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to Finland in 1990. Last year, he was recognized by the President of Finland for his contributions to the culture and architecture of Finland with the insignia of Knight, First Class, of the Order of the Lion of Finland.

The Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Wood Program at Aalto University, both in Helsinki, produced the "Annual Rings" exhibition. It describes the vitality of Finnish wood architecture over the past two decades and also celebrates the Wood Program's 20th anniversary.

The 14 professional works featured in the exhibition have been selected to illustrate the recent renaissance of wooden architecture in Finland. Starting from the late 1990s, and continuing to the present, the projects demonstrate the wide range of scales and forms in which wood has been put to use. The works have been selected not only for their architectural quality but also for the experimental nature of their execution. From offices and housing to public buildings and churches, the projects shown demonstrate new techniques in wood building while also reinterpreting traditional methods. The buildings, many of them the result of public competitions, reveal the possibilities of wooden architecture while also speaking to the important role that wood plays in Finnish art and culture.

Curators of the exhibition are Pekka Heikkinen, professor in wood architecture at Aalto University; Philip Tidwell, an architect; and Juulia Kauste. The exhibition design is by Philip Tidwell and Pekka Heikkinen. This exhibition is supported by the Alfred Kordelin Foundation, Aalto University, Lakea, Metsä Wood, Puuinfo and Suomen Tuulileijona.