Rainer Mahlamäki
Jury Member
Jury Member
Professor Rainer Mahlamäki
Professor Rainer Mahlamäki’s (Architect SAFA, born 1956) representative designs are a product of his belief in the
importance of understanding each commission’s backstory. He strives to understand the people he designs for, the
landscape he is altering, and the history he is representing. Whether museums or homes, his designs are rooted in a deep
understanding and speak for themselves.
Rainer Mahlamäki is Professor Emeritus of Contemporary Architecture at the University of Oulu, chaired the Board of the
Museum of Finnish Architecture from 2002 to 2006 and was President of Finnish Association of Architects from 2007 to
2011. He founded Lahdelma & Mahlamäki architects together with Ilmari Lahdelma in 1997, while their collaborations
began already in the 1980s.
His best-known works include, e.g., the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland and the Finnish Forest
Museum Lusto in Punkaharju, Finland. He is currently working on Trigoni high-rise buildings in Helsinki, Finland and The Lost
Shtetl Museum in Šeduva, Lithuania, to name but a few.
Rainer Mahlamäki frequently acts as a juror for high-profile international architecture competitions. His pioneering
achievements have been recognized with, e.g., the prestigious Prince Eugen Medal conferred by the King of Sweden for
outstanding artistic achievement.