Arch. Rainer MAHLAMÄKI

“Space and Material”

2015 Mies van der Rohe Award -shortlisted;
2015 MIPIM Awards – “Best Innovative Green Building”, finalist;
2014 – the first Finlandia Prize in Architecture, winner;
the Polish Republic decoration “Order of Merit” granted by President Bronislaw Komorowski;
2014 SARP (Society of Polish Architects awarded) Award of the Year and the Award for the Best Architectural Object Built Using Public Funds

Professor Rainer Mahlamäki (born 1956) is a Finnish architect, founder and principal with Professor Ilmari Lahdelma of the Helsinki-based architecture firm Lahdelma & Mahlamäki
Architects. The office is considered as one of the most famous ones in Scandinavia. The partners have received 37 first prizes (and 57 other prizes) in national and in international architectural
competitions since 1986.

Public buildings like museums, exhibition and university designs are his special field. The internationally most celebrated work is the Museum of the History of Polish Jews completed in
Warsaw 2013/14 (SARP Prizes for 2013, Finlandia Prize in 2014, shortlisted for the Mies van der Rohe Award in 2015). Finnish Nature Centre Haltia was completed also in 2013 (The Finnish
Wood Prize 2013 and special commendation from European Museum Forum in 2015). Kaustinen Folk Art Centre was completed in 1997 and Forest Museum Lusto in 1992.

Mahlamäki was appointed Professor of Contemporary Architecture at the University of Oulu, Department of Architecture in 1997. Currently he acts as the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture.
Mahlamäki was appointed President of the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA) from 2007 to 2011. He held the Chair of the Board of the Museum of Finnish Architecture from 2002 to 2006.
Mahlamäki has acted as a jury member in several architectural competitions in Europe since 1988; in 2015 he has acted as a jury member of the international invited competition of the Teva
Headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel and in the Helsinki Guggenheim –competition. He has also acted as a team member in several evaluation groups regarding architectural tutoring in European
Universities. He has also held board memberships in the National Architectural Arts Committee, Finnish National Building Board, Finnish Building Information Institute and in Finnish National
Building Board from 1997 onwards.

Rainer Mahlamäki has received several recognitions for his achievements in the field of architecture, like in 2014 the first Finlandia Prize in Architecture and the Finland Prize recognition
by the State of Finland twice with Ilmari Lahdelma, in 1997 and 2008.

A significant part of the works of the Helsinki-based architecture firm Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects, one of the most prolific and successful architecture firms in Finland, have begun as successful entries in architectural competitions, in which they have received 35 first prizes. Also, they also hold 59 other prizes in architectural competitions in Finland and abroad since 1987. First prizes include the Finnish Embassy in Japan, the Espoo Library, and the Chapel in Rovaniemi.

LM Architects is shortlisted in an invited design competition to design the Latvian Museum of Contemporary Art (LMoCA). Among his recent works, completed or under design, there is the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw (2013), the Finnish Nature Centre Haltia, Espoo (2013), the Apt Building Helsingin Studio, Helsinki (2013), the Office Building Frami, Seinäjoki (2009), EVIRA, Finnish Food Safety Authority, Helsinki (2006), Helsinki University, Exactum (2004).