Finnish Architects in the Spotlight: Vokal

Ella Kaira and Matti Jänkälä began working together in 2022. That year, the young architects collaborated on an art project exploring modern architectural heritage as part of the You Tell Me collective at the Pori Biennale, organised by Porin Kulttuurisäätö. The next step was participating in the artist residency of the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York in the fall of 2023. Working in New York ultimately gave the push to establish Vokal – and the confidence to trust in their own ways of working, Kaira and Jänkälä explain.

Focusing especially on art and research projects, Vokal is centered around the existing environment and the boundaries it sets. “This includes not only buildings and physical infrastructure, but also local communities of both humans and other species,” the architects explain. “In the midst of the climate crisis and increasing social and political crises, we believe it is essential to extend the lifespan of the existing building stock.”

Places and environments shape Vokal’s work from the very start of the design process. “Our work always begins with an in-depth exploration of the site. This includes archival research, multiple site visits, and building connections with local communities,” Kaira and Jänkälä elaborate. This principle was recently put into practice while curating the exhibition for the Pavilion of Finland at the Biennale Architettura: the architects traveled to Venice overland for a field research trip to connect with local life and uncover stories that can’t be found on a map.

Dialogue is a defining feature of Kaira and Jänkälä’s work, flowing in both directions and allowing their projects to open up new perspectives both within architecture and beyond. The exhibition the pair curated for the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, entitled The Pavilion – Architecture of Stewardship, explores the Pavilion of Finland through an audiovisual work. “Video art – especially large-scale projections – makes it possible to create spatial experiences and present architecture as a living, evolving process,” the curators note. “What was especially inspiring in this project was learning from video artist Merle Karp and sound designer Jussi Hertz, and seeing how they approach space and architecture.”

Kaira and Jänkälä believe that exhibiting architecture holds immense potential for exploring and making it understandable. “We are particularly fascinated by the dialogue between the artworks and the exhibition architecture with the exhibition space itself, as well as by unconventional spaces for exhibiting art,” they say. Exhibition projects also combine Vokal’s interest in places and storytelling, and the duo always hopes their works will evoke an emotional response in visitors.

By allowing space for individual experiences and emotions, Kaira and Jänkälä also want to show their trust in the viewer of the work: “For example, through a site-specific audiovisual piece at the biennale, we want visitors to see the space in a new way compared to before. We don’t aim to provide direct answers or solutions, but rather to offer an experience from which visitors can draw their own conclusions.”

Exhibition projects also serve as a way for Vokal to create new connections with the users of architecture. The final exhibition of the Geography of Memories project, taking place this August, is a prime example of this: the exhibition is closely tied to the valuable work carried out by local communities in the neighborhood of Meri-Rastila, while also handing over the new knowledge gathered by Kaira and Jänkälä to be freely used by the locals.

By utilizing participatory research methods and organising discussions, workshops, and exhibitions, Vokal aims to make the built environment more understandable and approachable. At the same time, they want to be present and accessible as discussion partners: “Anyone can take part in the conversation about their own local environment and deserves to be taken seriously,” Kaira and Jänkälä remind us.

Looking to the future, Kaira and Jänkälä hope for a deeper understanding of architecture’s impacts and a multidisciplinary dialogue about the conditions needed for the necessary change. “Architects move land masses, communities, and living beings out of the way with a stroke of a pen. It’s also time to recognise that the answer to all – or nowadays even many – societal challenges is not a new building.”

Although architects are under pressure from tight deadlines, real estate investment and efficiency, Vokal believes there is room for the industry to break away from unsustainable practices. “Once alternative models start being implemented, there will be demand for them,” Kaira and Jänkälä comment, while also pointing out the importance of the impact architects can make: “We hope more and more people will engage with societal issues both within the design profession and in the processes shaping the built environment."

One of Vokal’s long-held aspirations has been to organize a course focused on the idea of non-construction. “This dream is now becoming a reality as we teach in the international Aalto ARTS Summer School,” Kaira and Jänkälä explain. "One day, we would like to explore different forms of ownership for existing buildings that are under threat of demolition. We hope to work collaboratively and inclusively on the repair of existing structures," the architects reflect.

For now, their next chapter is already set in motion: this September, Kaira and Jänkälä will head to Paris for a four-month artist residency. “Let’s see what kind of inspiration we’ll bring back with us!”

Find out more about Vokal on their website.

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