On Tuesday September 9, 2025 at 16.30–17.45 (Finnish time / EEST / UTC+3)
The online event will be held on Zoom, and pre-registration is required.

Register here for the event

This online dialogue brings together architects Sam De Vocht and Sofia Nivarti to explore the resonances between the work of renowned architects Marie-José Van Hee and Alvar, Aino and Elissa Aalto. Marie-José Van Hee is the 15th recipient of the prestigious Alvar Aalto Medal in 2024.

Treating tradition as a living process—honouring the past while reinterpreting it for the present as well as future—their work shares a commitment to care: for materials, for ageing buildings, and for the people who inhabit them. Rather than focusing on grand gestures, we plunge into a quieter architectural ethos, one that celebrates the everyday, the intimate, and the sometimes overlooked.

The event invites participants to consider how small-scale renovation, domesticity, and artisanal collaboration can be lyricised through thoughtful design. It opens a space for reimagining architectural legacy as an ongoing dialogue, celebrating continuity and sparking hope for the future.

Pilvi Kalhama, the new director of Architecture and Design Museum Helsinki, will give the opening words at the event.

How do I participate?

You can participate in the event online via Zoom or attend a screening event in Aalto2 Museum Centre in Jyväskylä.

The online event is free of charge and will be held on the Zoom Webinar platform. Pre-registration is required: Register here

The registration is open until the event is finished. The participation link and instructions for participation are sent in a separate email after registration.

After the speakers’ presentations and discussion, there will be time for audience questions. Questions may be asked via Zoom’s Q&A function and are read aloud to the speakers by moderators.

A recording of the event will be available for a period of two weeks on the museum website. Participants will not show on the recording.

Alvar Aalto, Säynätsalo Town Hall, Säynätsalo, FI, 1949. Photo Niclas Mäkelä.
Marie-José Van Hee, House HdF, Zuidzande, NL, 2007-2011. Photo David Grandorge.