Celebrating the Everyday – Marie-José Van Hee’s Architecture in Dialogue with Aalto

On Tuesday September 9, 2025 at 16.30–17.45 (Finnish time / EEST / UTC+3)
The online event will be held on Zoom, and pre-registration is required.

This online dialogue brings together architects Sam De Vocht and Sofia Nivarti to explore the resonances between the work of renowned architects Marie-José Van Hee and Alvar, Aino and Elissa Aalto. Marie-José Van Hee is the 15th recipient of the prestigious Alvar Aalto Medal in 2024.

Treating tradition as a living process—honouring the past while reinterpreting it for the present as well as future—their work shares a commitment to care: for materials, for ageing buildings, and for the people who inhabit them. Rather than focusing on grand gestures, we plunge into a quieter architectural ethos, one that celebrates the everyday, the intimate, and the sometimes overlooked.

The event invites participants to consider how small-scale renovation, domesticity, and artisanal collaboration can be lyricised through thoughtful design. It opens a space for reimagining architectural legacy as an ongoing dialogue, celebrating continuity and sparking hope for the future.

Pilvi Kalhama, the new director of Architecture & Design Museum Helsinki, will give the opening words at the event.

How do I participate?
You can participate in the event online via Zoom or attend a screening event in Aalto2 Museum Centre in Jyväskylä.

The online event is free of charge and will be held on the Zoom Webinar platform. Pre-registration is required.

The registration is open until the event is finished. The participation link and instructions for participation are sent in a separate email after registration.

After the speakers’ presentations and discussion, there will be time for audience questions. Questions may be asked via Zoom’s Q&A function and are read aloud to the speakers by moderators.

Book your spot here: https:/­/­us06web.zoom.us/­webinar/­register/­WN_RVstVO1RTpWIa3lMvde9zA#/­registration