JKMM Architects

JKMM Architects is an integrated design practice of architecture, interiors, urban life, furniture, graphics and art. Based in Helsinki, JKMM is creating next-generation modern Finnish design. Since 1998, the studio’s numerous architecture competition wins have led JKMM to becoming internationally recognised and Finland’s leading practice. Today the studio employs nearly 100 designers with shared values and a mission to make for a better world one building at a time.

JKMM ARCHITECTURE - 4 POINTS OF DEPARTURE

Architecture has to do with the context. Architecture of a single building
simultaneously creates the larger architectural context: new fragments of
urban fabric or landscape emerge.

Architecture has to do with people. Spatial experience, scale and function
are abstract things. But in buildings, they should be translated into a physical form. Buildings begin their life when somebody walks in.

Architecture has to do with making sculptures. The guiding force behind the architectural concept is the logic of sculptures. The design process is a delicate affair of refining the balance between the contemporary and timelessness, between stereotypical beauty and odd discoveries.

Architecture has to do with craft. The finished building is what counts. Over decades, buildings should not only withstand time, but get more beautiful with age. The materials of a building are real: they have texture, weight and smell. The joints in a wooden boat possess beauty because they are simple, natural and full fill their function. In buildings, architectural beauty can be found in crafting things. Architects are craftsmen.