Architect Rainer Mahlamäki to Present 'Thoughts in the Island' Lecture on Nov. 9

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The Centre of Folk Art, in Kaustinen, Finland. (Image courtesy of Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Rainer Mahlamäki will present a lecture at 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, in Ken and Linda Sue Shollmier Hall, Room 250 of Vol Walker Hall, on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, as part of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design lecture series.

Mahlamäki is a Finnish architect and is founder and principal of Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects, a Helsinki-based firm, with Ilmari Lahdelma.

In this lecture, titled "Thoughts in the Island," Mahlamäki will discuss how his recent thoughts on an island sparked new ideas in relation to his architectural field. A few years ago, Mahlamäki and his wife purchased a group of islands in the archipelago of Lake Saimaa. This area is secluded within Eastern Finland, and the large lake area remains mostly intact.

Mahlamäki was drawn back to the architectural basics when he and his wife decided to build a summer cottage on one island. He does not have any other buildings on the island, and the only people he has to please are his wife and himself. Space and time are less constricting, but the budget must remain low because they are covering all the costs.

As a local farmer helped him set wood blocks, he had an intriguing thought about how this same process has been done to thousands of other construction sites worldwide. This ignited thoughts about his own ideas in relation to modern architecture, and that is what he will explore during his lecture.

Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects is considered to be one of the most famous firms in Scandinavia. The firm's work has been published widely since the 1980s, mostly in Europe but also in the United States and Asia. The work has been exhibited in São Paulo, Brazil, and in Milan and Venice, Italy. Several of their works have been nominated for the most appreciated award in Europe, the Mies van der Rohe Award. He and Lahdelma received the Finland Prize from the State of Finland in 1997 and 2008.

The firm has received nearly 100 prizes in national and international architectural competitions. The firm’s most celebrated work internationally is the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which was completed in 2014 in Warsaw and received the first Finlandia Prize in Architecture.

Mahlamäki received a Master of Science in Architecture in 1987 from Tampere University of Technology. He, along with Lahdelma and six others, was a founder and a partner in the architecture firm 8 Studio from 1986-1993. In 1992, he, Lahdelma and Mikko Kaira founded Kaira-Lahdelma-Mahlamäki Architects. He partnered with various architects until 1997, when he and Lahdelma began their firm.

Also in 1997, Mahlamäki was appointed Professor of Contemporary Architecture at the University of Oulu. He served as the head of the Department of Architecture from 2000-2005 and Vice-Head of the Department from 2006-2013. From 2014 to August 2015, he was the Education Dean, and he was appointed the Dean of Faculty in September.

Mahlamäki has also served as the President of the Finnish Association of Architects and as Chair of the Board of the Museum of Finnish Architecture. He has contributed to various architectural competitions by being an active jury member.

This is the Mort Karp Memorial Lecture, sponsored by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects.

The public is invited to attend. Admission is free, with limited seating.

For more information, contact 479-575-4704 or fayjones.uark.edu.