Juha Leiviskä
Encyclopedia
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
Life and career
The son of engineer Toivo Ilmari Leiviskä and teacher Sonja Jämsén-Astala, Leiviskä studied architecture at Helsinki University of TechnologyHelsinki University of Technology
Aalto University School of Science and Technology , was the temporary name for Helsinki University of Technology during the process of forming the Aalto University...
, qualifying as an architect in 1963. He established his own office in 1964, while also working as a teaching assistant at Helsinki University of Technology.
Leiviskä also worked with architect Bertel Saarnio, and together they won the architectural competition for the Kouvola
Kouvola
Kouvola is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located northeast of the capital, Helsinki.The city has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
Town Hall (1964-68), regarded as one of the most significant public buildings in Finland during the 1960s, and brought much critical attention to the young architect.
Leiviskä came to international attention during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s with designs for churches in different parts of Finland, each employing a similar design language. His mature style combines the sensitivity to the dramatics of natural light of German Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
churches, with compositional principles of Dutch De Stijl
De Stijl
De Stijl , propagating the group's theories. Next to van Doesburg, the group's principal members were the painters Piet Mondrian , Vilmos Huszár , and Bart van der Leck , and the architects Gerrit Rietveld , Robert van 't Hoff , and J.J.P. Oud...
architecture of the 1920s, for instance in the way series of parallel, free-standing walls can define space yet deconstruct traditional notions of enclosure. An integral part of the architecture of the churches has been the lamps designed by Leiviskä himself. The lamps have been taken up as part of the lamps sold by the Artek
Artek
The word Artek has several meanings:*It's the commonly used name for Arctic Technology Centre, established in late summer 2000 to teach and provide in-service training for Greenlandic and Danish students and businessmen in Arctic technology....
company, also responsible for marketing the lamps designed by Alvar Aalto
Alvar Aalto
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware...
.
Leiviskä has a joint architect's office in Helsinki with architect Vilhelm Helander
Vilhelm Helander
Arne Anders Vilhem Helander , is a Finnish architect and was Professor of Architecture History at Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland from 1986 until 2005, when he became Professor Emeritus....
- Vilhelm Helander, Juha Leiviskä arkkitehdit SAFA.
Quote
"Architecture is closer to music than to the visual arts. To qualify as architecture, buildings, together with their internal spaces and their details, must be an organic part of the environment, of its grand drama, of its movement and of its spatial sequences. To me, a building as it stands, "as a piece of architecture" is nothing. Its meaning comes only in counterpoint with its surroundings, with life and with light." (Juha Leiviskä, cited in Architecture and Urbanism, April 1995)Awards
Leiviskä was made a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in 1991. In 1992 he was appointed as an 'Artist Professor' by the Finnish President. In 1994 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of ArchitectsAmerican Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
. He was awarded the prestigious Carlsberg Prize in architecture in 1995. In 1997 Leiviskä followed Alvar Aalto
Alvar Aalto
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware...
and Reima Pietilä in becoming the architecture Member of the Academy of Finland
Academy of Finland
The Academy of Finland is a governmental funding body for scientific research in Finland. It is based in the Finnish capital, Helsinki. Yearly, the Academy administers over 260 million euros to Finnish research activities. Over 5,000 researchers are working on the projects supported by the academy...
- thus bestowing on him the title of Akateemikko (Academician
Academician
The title Academician denotes a Full Member of an art, literary, or scientific academy.In many countries, it is an honorary title. There also exists a lower-rank title, variously translated Corresponding Member or Associate Member, .-Eastern Europe and China:"Academician" may also be a functional...
). In 2008 he was awarded the international Antonio Feltrinelli Prize
Antonio Feltrinelli Prize
The Antonio Feltrinelli Prize is a prestigious award for achievement in the arts, music, literature, history, philosophy, medicine, and physical and mathematical sciences. The award comes with a monetary grant, a certificate, and a gold medal. The prize is awarded once every five years in each...
by Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.
A selection of buildings by Leiviskä
- Kouvola City Hall, KouvolaKouvolaKouvola is a town and municipality in southeastern Finland. It is located northeast of the capital, Helsinki.The city has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
(1968) (with Bertel Saario) - Lemi Old Wooden Church, restoration, LemiLemiLemi is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is ....
(1969) - Nakkila Parish Centre, NakkilaNakkilaNakkila is a municipality of Finland.It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Satakunta region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is...
(1970) - St.Thomas's Church and Parish Centre, Puolivälinkangas, OuluOuluOulu is a city and municipality of inhabitants in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is one of the northernmost larger cities in the world....
(1975) - Old Student House, restoration, HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
(1980) (with Vilhelm HelanderVilhelm HelanderArne Anders Vilhem Helander , is a Finnish architect and was Professor of Architecture History at Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland from 1986 until 2005, when he became Professor Emeritus....
) - Myyrmäki Church, VantaaVantaaVantaa is a city and municipality in Finland. Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen make up the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.Vantaa, with its population of , is the fourth most populated city of Finland. The biggest airport in Finland, the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, is located there...
(1984) - Kirkkonummi Parish Centre, KirkkonummiKirkkonummiKirkkonummi is a municipality of inhabitants in southern Finland. The literal meaning of the words "Kirkkonummi" and "Kyrkslätt" in English is "church moor"....
(1984) - Merikasarminkatu 7, housing complex, Helsinki (1984)
- Auditorium and workshop building, Niuvanniemi Hospital, KuopioKuopioKuopio is a city and a municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia, Finland. A population of makes it the ninth biggest city in the country. The city has a total area of , of which is water and half forest...
(with Vilhelm Helander) (1985) - Villa Johanna, restoration, Helsinki (1986) (with Marika Schalin)
- Harju Chapel restoration and extension, MikkeliMikkeliMikkeli is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
- Auroranlinna housing complex, Helsinki (1990) (with Pekka Kivisalo)
- Vallila Library and Daycare Centre, Helsinki (1991) (with Asta Björklund)
- Männistö Church, Kuopio (1992)
- German Embassy, Kuusisaari, Helsinki (1993)
- German Church and Parish Centre, restoration and extension (with Vilhelm Helander) (2001)
- Pakilla Church, Helsinki (2002)
- Annexe to BethlehemBethlehemBethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
Dar Al-Kalima Centre, PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
(2005) http://www.annadwa.org/addar/addar.htm - Swedish school of social science, Helsinki (2009)