OMAKUVA : Welcome Home

This project delves into the possibilities of using poetry, its reading and its creation, as a form of architectural research. Cities and landscapes have long inspired poets and writers — so, is it possible to reverse this process?

I chose Pablo Neruda’s poetry for analysis because of its imagery : the sea, stones and forests -- all evocative of the Finnish landscape. I also wrote poetry in order to more directly express the ultimate goals of the design.

Before this phase of research, I first familiarized myself with the Finnish landscape — cultural and designed. Through the combination of first-hand experience and second-hand poetic analysis, a design with the goals of accommodating both emotional and pragmatic needs emerged.

The proposal for a new home for the University of Tennessee Finland Summer Architecture Institute engages the active fabric of Helsinki by providing an anchor point for students -- a place where they can retreat from their surroundings to become fully immersed in their studies, their ideas and each other.

Located in Hietaniemi, Helsinki, on Lapinlahti Bay, the pavilion embraces the water to the West and the city center to the East. The pavilion, which contains a living room, a kitchen, a hallway lined with writing nooks and thirteen rooms, is supported by a care-taker’s cottage and a sauna overlooking the bay.

A single incision into the stone on the South side of the pavilion creates an intimate courtyard in which students and faculty can gather to enjoy the Finnish summer.