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Event Info

Aaltosiilo
Alvar Aallon katu 5, Oulu

Organized By

Kaisa Karvinen and Jenni Hakovirta

Another Gaze

Event banner.

The seminar examines ways of viewing architecture in a time marked by geopolitical tensions, technological transformation, and climate crisis.

The event will be held in English at Aaltosiilo, one of the industrial buildings designed by Alvar and Aino Aalto, which is currently being repurposed into a cultural centre. The seminar brings together architects, artists, curators, researchers, and students to share their perspectives. 

The presentations explore themes such as the importance of communities and memory, the legacy of modernism, and the future of architecture in an era shaped by experiences of destruction and historical change. Another Gaze is part of the programme of Alvar Aalto Week and Oulu 2026 European Capital of Culture.

The event is open to all and free of charge. Register here. Read more about the seminar here.

Three keynote lectures are from:

  • Phineas Harper – architecture critic, journalist, and sculptor, London
  • Meneesha Kellay – Lead Curator, V&A East Museum, London
  • Mari Lending – Professor of Architectural History and Theory, Oslo School of Architecture and Design

Programme

09:30–09:45 Opening Remarks
09:45–10:15 Meneesha KellayOpening Keynote Lecture

Session I: Community and Memory

10:15–10:30 Ksenia KaverinaWhy Preserve?
10:30–10:45 jeesjeesgood collective: Shared Authorship of Public Spaces: Viewpoints from Critical Regionalism
10:45–11:00 Siiri TurpeinenWhat Buildings Remember?
11.00–11.15 Henriikka HimmaThe Relationship between Performance and Architecture
11:15–11:30 Toisaalta Ensemble: Pieskanranta 2125

11:30–11:40 Coffee Break

Session II: Another Gaze on Modernism

11:40–12:00 Minou NorouziOn the Tenderness of Men (film screening)
12:00-12:15 Ville PaananenThe Anti-Gravitational Semiotics of Modern Architecture
12:15–12:30 Karita RytivaaraRe-reading Modern Heritage through Abstraction and the Model
12.30–12.45 Jaakko KarhunenConcreteness and Metaphor in Architecture

12:45–13.45 Lunch at DIXON

Session III: Archive

13:45–14:00 Mika SavelaAlternational Pictures
14:00–14:30 Mari LendingKeynote Lecture
14:30–15:15 Panel Discussion with Mika Savela, Mari Lending, Ásdís Ólafsdóttir: Beyond the Masters 

15:15–15:30 Coffee Break 

Session IV: Future in Collapse

15:30–15:45 Grace HermezThe Invisibles in Architecture
15:45–16:00 Tommi AhoCritique of Ideology and Marxist Thought in Architecture
16:00–16:15 Aleksi LohtajaPost-collapse Architecture

16:15–16:30 Break

16:30–17:00 Phineas HarperClosing Keynote Lecture

17:00–17:30 Informal Gathering

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