UKI Arkkitehdit celebrated its 60th anniversary with a book and an excursion trip

UKI Arkkitehdit turned sixty and published a celebratory book featuring the designs over the past decade. Kasvun vuosikymmen (“The Decade of Growth”) is a follow-up to the book Huomisen tekijät (“Makers of Tomorrow”) that was published ten years ago, which outlines the history of the office and its designs for the first five decades.

Ilpo Okkonen, the art director of the new book, says that the book illustrates well the extensive and versatile expertise that UKI has through its references.

“The designs of the office speak for themselves. UKI designs user-driven architecture that is also eye-catching and positively impacts the urban environment”, Okkonen says.

The celebratory book also offers a glimpse to the buildings that are hidden from the public – this particularly applies to industrial buildings.

Ilpo Okkonen says he appreciates the fact that an architecture office wants to present their designs in a traditional form of a book while using the latest technology in its design process. In a constantly evolving world where the storage formats change, a book can leave a permanent mark on future generations.

The celebratory book is a case bound book with 160 pages. Most of the photographs are shot by Ilpo Okkonen, the graphic design and layouts are designed by Juho Naumanen and the texts are written by Kari Arokylä.

In September 2018, the staff of UKI went on a celebratory excursion to Lisbon, Portugal. The travel program included exploring the architecture in the capital and the nearby towns Sintra and Cascais.

The particular points of interest were especially Parque das Nações and the Belém disctrict. Parque das Nações is the most modern disctrict, which arose from the 1998 Lisbon World Exposition. Belém is known for its historical sites.

The staff also visited the MAAT Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology, the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum and Adega Mãe Winery.

The successful trip can be summed up in five words: togetherness, architecture, culture, food and wine.