Juhani Pallasmaa

Juhani Pallasmaa (b. 1936), architect, professor emeritus, writer, Helsinki. Practiced design in 1983-2012 through his office in Helsinki. Held positions as Rector of the Institute of Industrial Design Helsinki, Director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture, and Professor and Dean of the School of Architecture, Helsinki University of Technology, and several visiting professorships in the USA, and taught and lectured in numerous universities in Europe, North and South America, Africa, Asia and Australia. Member of the Pritzker Architecture Prize Jury 2008-2014.

Pallasmaa has published 60 books and 800 essays, articles and prefaces, and his writings have been translated into 36 languages. His widely known books include: The Embodied Image, The Thinking Hand, The Architecture of Image: existential space in cinema, and The Eyes of the Skin.

He is an honorary member of SAFA, AIA and RIBA, Academician of the International Academy of Architecture, and has received numerous Finnish and international awards and six Honorary Doctorates.

Hüseyin Yanar

Hüseyin Yanar graduated with high honours from the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul (MSGSÜ). He finalized his Ph.D on “Rhythm and Rhythmic Volumetry” in Architecture and taught at the same institution. His journey at Oxford Brookes University started with his MPhil thesis on “Rhythmic Patterns” where he directed design studios and gave lectures. Later, he joined Tampere University, Aalto University and Fine Arts Academy in Finland. Yanar wrote one of the three invited articles in the book of Finnish Architectural Biennale 2010/2011. He participated in the exhibition “Istanbul Stream and Bridges” at the Fine Arts Academy of Finland in 2012. Later, Yanar was invited to Dong-Eui University of South Korea as Associate Professor in 2013-14. In the exhibition of “Two Paths to Silence” together with photographer Jussi Tiainen, his texts were exhibited at the Museum of Finnish Architecture in 2014. Yanar also took part in Tallinn Architecture Biennale in 2015. His book, “Portraits” which has an introductory from Juhani Pallasmaa, was published in 2011, and got one of the prizes of “The Most Beautiful Finnish Books 2011”. Now, he is finalizing his new book, “A Kingdom of Architecture and Beyond”. Recent years, Yanar has been teaching in “Urban Meditation” studios of Urban Planning Group, Faculty of Built Environment, Tampere University in Finland. He has awards, jury memberships, talks, exhibitions, critical articles, some built projects and has also a studio named Orpheus North.

Yanar has lived, taught in four different countries and learned from four different cultures. He believes that there are many architectures, not only one. He also thinks that it is better to forget architecture and go out of it as much as possible and come back powerfully to see everything with a new, fresh and critical eye.