Finland is inspiring, and has been for me since I was a student at the
Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Architecture School in Copenhagen. My
future wife and student of planning and our friend became Turkey's
equivalent of our Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. We
visited all of south Finland. In Helsinki, we also went to the office
of Alvar Aalto while still working but not in his office that day.
His works are all impressively creative and function so well.
We were very fortunate to have an excellent guide, an executive staff
lady of the Enzo Gutzeit Paper Mill company. That connection gave us
very special access to their paper mills, their lodges, and all the
wonderful places. It was a wonderful experience. Your excellent video
brough all that back to mind. Thank you
Original Message:
Sent: 10/31/2025 5:44:00 AM
From: Jeffrey Abrams, AIA
Subject: RE: Finland Design Study Group
Nice video. Thanks.
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Jeffrey Abrams AIA
Jeff Abrams, Architect
Columbia SC
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-30-2025 12:08 PM
From: Susan Parrish
Subject: Finland Design Study Group
Finland Design Study Group
Human-Centered Modernism: Finnish Architecture of Culture, Craft, and Care
AIA Knowledge Communities are an opportunity for you to experience learning in an immersive way – in place. When you explore a city or region in a deep and meaningful way, you find out there is a sense of tradition and cohesion as well as new ideas. This is what we try to find in our programs. Several of our committee members participated in a Design Study Group in Finland this August with Peter MacKeith, AIA and in collaboration with the University of Arkansas School of Architecture.
Tour video
Read letter from the Chair Craig Brandt, FAIA
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Susan Parrish
Director, Knowledge Communities
The American Institute of Architects
Washington DC
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