Award-winning Belgian architect Marie-José Van Hee’s exhibition to Jyväskylä - Alvar Aalto Foundation

The Belgian architect Marie-José Van Hee (b. 1950) is one of the most prominent European architects of our time and a recent recipient of the Alvar Aalto Medal. Her work combines understated elegance with human-centred design. The exhibition in the Gallery at the Aalto2 Museum Centre invites us to explore Van Hee’s timeless, humane architecture.

I like good rooms; that’s what interests me through all the ages. Houses with good rooms, good-dimensioned rooms with good light coming in, and doors. What else do you need?  – Marie-José Van Hee

The exhibition is preceded by an online event, Celebrating the Everyday – Marie-José Van Hee’s Architecture in Dialogue with Aalto, at 16.30–17.45 (Finnish time / EEST / UTC+3) on Tuesday September 9, 2025. The 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. The event will take place on Zoom, and requires pre-registration. Register here for the event.

House L-C. Photo © Crispijn Van Sas.

House Van Hee. Photo © Crispijn Van Sas.

The Sun as a Painter of Homes
The exhibition gives us a chance to experience Marie-José Van Hee’s subtly simple, timeless architecture. Its title, Marie-José Van Hee – For Sun and Wind to Paint on, reflects her meticulous attention to how light interacts with different surfaces and materials.

Van Hee skilfully uses materials, light, and proportions to create harmonious spaces where the boundary between interior and exterior becomes blurred. Her architectural philosophy demonstrates that unadorned spaces can indeed serve as inviting settings for daily life. Authentic materials, light, and understanding people’s needs make the spaces that Van Hee creates functional, vivid and homely.

“I choose as many natural, sustainable materials as possible. You can date a building by its material, since certain materials always reflect a specific era. On the other hand, space is something that can and must be timeless. Space is universal,” Van Hee says.

“Marie-José Van Hee’s exhibition is part of a long tradition, since the architecture of Alvar Aalto Medal-winning designers has been displayed in Central Finland for almost 60 years,” says Tommi Lindh, CEO of the Alvar Aalto Foundation. “I hope that, when looking at Van Hee’s architecture, visitors recognise how important scale is when designing human-sized spaces, and how essential it is to have a feel for the building’s spirit of place,” Lindh says.

The exhibition is produced by Architecture & Design Museum Helsinki and is curated by Jutta Tynkkynen, Marie-José Van Hee and Sam De Vocht.

Award-Winning Architect and Inspiring Teacher
Marie-José Van Hee, who graduated as an architect from Sint-Lucas School of Architecture in 1974, founded her architect’s office in Gent 1990. Her unique production includes more than 250 completed projects and 200 unrealised plans, ranging from private houses to public spaces and cultural buildings.

Van Hee´s residential buildings in Ghent, Belgium, such as House Van Hee completed in 1996, are known for their intimacy and spaciousness. Her public works, such as MoMu – Fashion Museum Antwerp and the renovations of the city centres of Ghent and Deinze, have attracted widespread international attention. They exemplify Van Hee’s skill in bringing new architecture into bustling city centres, while respecting the historical context.

Van Hee has taught at Sint-Lucas School of Architecture and ETH Zurich, inspiring multiple generations of architects through her teaching and her architecture.

She has received numerous prestigious honours, including Belgium’s National Cultural Prize and the Architizer A+ Award. Most recently, in August 2024, she was awarded the international Alvar Aalto Medal at the Alvar Aalto Symposium, Jyväskylä, Finland.

Alvar Aalto Medal
The Alvar Aalto Medal, founded in 1967 and named after academician Alvar Aalto, is awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of architecture. Previous recipients include Tadao Ando, Alvaro Siza and Jørn Utzon, the architect of Sydney Opera House.

Marie-José Van Hee is an exceptional recipient of this award, as she is best known for her small-scale projects, such as private homes. She is also the first individual woman to receive this recognition. ”Van Hee’s works is beautifully understated, relevant, rooted in place. Her ability to translate a sense of place is rare,” the Medal jury said in its statement.

The Alvar Aalto Foundation, the Museum of Finnish Architecture and Design Museum, the Finnish Society of Architecture, the Association of Finnish Architects and the City of Helsinki award the internationally esteemed prize every three years.

Exhibition enquiries:
Mari Murtoniemi
Alvar Aalto Museum
mari.murtoniemi@alvaraalto.fi
+358 40 355 9162

Marie-José Van Hee – For Sun and Wind to Paint on
Gallery of the Aalto2 Museum Centre 26.9.2025–12.4.2026