Media Relations Contact:
Aina Cohen
For Immediate
Release
May 15, 2006
Consulate General of
Finland to visit the University of Pittsburgh's Nationality Rooms.
The Consulate General of
Finland in New York, Osmo Lipponen, will open an award ceremony and
press event to be held on Friday, June 2nd, at 2 pm in the Commons
Room of the Cathedral of Learning. During this event a prize for the
best design of the Finnish Nationality Classroom will be awarded to
architecture student Mika Grönhahl
from Oulu University, Finland. Mika will then present his
winning design, titled The Big Dipper which is based on an
early Finnish smoke cottage and combines tradition with modern
technology, original materials, and a coherent theme. Following the ceremony
and presentation, the
group will tour the
26 Nationality
Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning and examine the future site of the Finnish Nationality
Room.
The Finnish Room Committee
of the University of Pittsburgh and Finlandia Foundation Pittsburgh
Chapter sponsored the design competition with the aim of gathering
creative ideas to enhance the final design of the Finnish
Nationality Room and enriching the architectural education of the
students involved. The competitors were instructed to design a
working classroom which best represents Finnish culture and the
Finnish built environment as they existed prior to 1787, (the year
the University of Pittsburgh was founded). A number of Finnish
architects and interior designers submitted entries. The jury
found Mika Grondahl’s winning design “Big Dipper” to be realizable
and to have an elegant overall plan. The design integrates an early
Finnish smoke cottage with the newest audiovisual technology in an
interesting manner. The contrast between modern and historic also
represents Finland's rapid development to be one of the most
advanced countries in the field of technology. The Finnish groups
are now working to raise the funds necessary (estimated at $300,000)
to construct the Finnish Nationality Classroom. For more
information about the Finnish Room Project, visit
www.pittsburghfinns.net or contact Finnish Room Committee chairperson
Seija Cohen (seijac@aol.com).
Also during their stay
in Pittsburgh, the Consulate General may attend a concert at the Garfield Artworks
featuring the music group Kaiku,
who were named the Finlandia Foundation performers of the year
2006. Kaiku (Finnish for "echo") is a New
York based group of Finnish and American musicians. Their music is a
fascinating mix of spirited Finnish singing and world music
instrumentation. The striking voices of the female vocalists
have been described as "Kate
Bush multiplied by three". The concert will start at 8:00 pm
with local musician Carl Rahkonen playing Finnish tunes with violin
and the kantele (a traditional Finnish string instrument).
Supporting Material:
Related Websites:
For Immediate
Release
April 20, 2006
Architecture student Mika Gröndahl wins
design competition for his submission titled The Big Dipper.
A competition for the best
potential design of the Finnish Nationality Classroom was sponsored by
the Finnish Nationality Room Committee of the University of
Pittsburgh. First place was awarded to Mika Gröndahl,
architecture student from Oulu University, for his submission titled
The Big Dipper. An overview of his design which combines
traditional decor and state of the art audio-visual technology is
displayed below. The second prize winners are a design team
comprised of Eero Lunden, Heikki Muntola, Olli Saarikoski and Eero
Tapio from Oulu University for their Carelian inspired submission
titled Piilu. The third prize winners are Jesperi Vara and
Jussi Heinonen from Tampere University of Technology, for their
innovative submission titled KUURA.
Click here to view
a
.pdf file containing a description of the winning designs in both
English and in Finnish.
The
winning design titled The Big Dipper, by Mika Gröndahl, is based
on an early Finnish smoke cottage and combines tradition with modern
technology, original materials, and a coherent theme. The colors are
dark and light woods. The dialog between the traditional elements and
their new interpretation is fresh and modern. Reference is made to
Finnish literature, in particular the story of The Seven Brothers by
Aleksis Kivi. The brothers studied the alphabet in a similar room.
Click here to download a .pdf file (6.8 MB)
by Mika Gröndahl describing his winning design.
The design competition
ended in March 2006 and was open to all Finnish students of
architecture and interior design. Entries had to incorporate the technological
requirements of the contemporary university teaching classroom into an
architectural interior that is expressive of Finland’s past, prior to
1787, the year of the University of Pittsburgh’s founding. Portions
of the winning designs will be incorporated into the final plans for
the Finnish Nationality Classroom.
Click here to download a pdf
file explaining the full contest rules. We were
pleased to receive many wonderful submissions and thank all who
entered the competition.
About the Winning
Designer:
Mika
Gröndahl is a
Finnish expatriate living in New York with his wife and three
children. He is currently on a leave of absence from his
employment as a Graphics Editor at The New York Times, while
finishing his Masters Degree in Architecture from the University
of Oulu, Finland. His thesis project is a 35-story Finland
Center located in the heart of Times Square. After graduation
Mika is looking forward to complete more design projects through
the design company, Lumi 4, Inc., which he runs with his wife.
High Resolution
Images:
The Finnish Nationality Classroom Proposal
Finnish Room Committee has reached an agreement with the University
of Pittsburgh to start fund raising for the construction of a
Finnish Nationality Classroom to be added to the existing 26 Nationality
Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning (right) at the University of
Pittsburgh. The design of this new classroom will reflect the
culture and customs of Finland. The classroom will serve as a
memorial where the relatives of early Finnish immigrants will learn
about their heritage and remember the contributions of their
ancestors and as a place where students and visitors will learn
about Finland and Finnish traditions.
It will also provide a focal point for
local Finnish organizations and activities.
The Nationality Classrooms at the
University of Pittsburgh are a centerpiece of cultural activities in
Pittsburgh. A common question of the many visitors —
tens of thousands every year — who tour these rooms is: WHERE IS THE FINNISH ROOM?
We of the Finnish Room Committee have made it our task to correct
this unsatisfying situation.
We
need your support: It is an
ambitious goal for us to raise the $300,000 necessary to cover all
the expenses of constructing this heritage classroom. To reach
this goal, we need the support of other Finns and Finnish Americans
throughout the United States.
1.
Please consider sending a contribution to support the
construction of the Finnish Nationality Classroom.
Contributions may be made online, by credit card or by check.
Click here to find out
more on how to contribute.
2. You can also help by sharing
this information with your friends, family, and local cultural
organizations. To help with the fundraising effort, a flyer
describing the Finnish Nationality Classroom Project is available
for download (Finnish_Room_Flyer.pdf)
and a complimentary 30-minute video about the Nationality Classroom
program, entitled “Homelands Remembered”, is available for
presentations upon request. For more information please
contact Seija Cohen ((seijac@aol.com).
Adding a link to http://www.pittsburghfinns.net on your organizations website is
another way to help spread the word.
Learn More:
-
The Finnish Room Committee
-
Our Goal
-
The Purpose of the
Finnish Nationality Classroom
-
How to Contribute
-
Dedication of Gift
Ceremony
-
Finnish People in
Pennsylvania
-
Finland Today
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