Finland 2016

The Finnish pavilion at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, will host the “From Border to Home” competition challenge, process, and outcomes.

By the end of 2015, Finland had experienced a ten-fold increase in asylum seekers, raising the question of how to house them, not just on day one, but in a way that places them on a path to integration. The Government created many more reception centers, but the need for more robust solutions was clear.

On October 19, 2015, as a reaction to the current situation, The Museum of Finnish Architecture launched an open international architectural competition, From Border to Home, in collaboration with the Finnish Association of Architects SAFA. The goal of this competition was to seek broad solutions to the challenge of housing asylum-seekers. The particular focus was on the period they await a formal decision on their claim. The competition was run with an unusually fast schedule gaining wide visibility with 93 entries. On January 11, 2016 the competition jury with representatives from the Finnish Red Cross, Finnish Ministry of Interior, the Finnish Refugee Council, and the architectural profession awarded three winners and four honorable mentions. On February 3, 2016 the outcomes of the competition were presented to the Finnish Government.

The Finnish Pavilion will host the competition challenge, process, and outcomes as a platform to advance the housing conversation. The exhibition aims to challenge the view that the needs of asylumseekers excessively burden existing communities. Perhaps this surge is simply accelerating our existing challenges of homelessness and social marginalization, and in addressing the needs of these new arrivals we can provide better solutions for everyone.

The pavilion will be supported by a series of events and the From Border to Home Blog. The Events program seeks to expand, enrich, and accelerate the discussion about asylum housing in Europe. The From Border to Home Blog (www.frombordertohome.fi) invites architects, curators and the general audience to reflect, expand and socialize this dialogue.

The exhibition is curated by architect Marco Steinberg and commissioned by Juulia Kauste, director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture. The exhibition and associated program at the Finnish pavilion are realized by the Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Architecture Information Centre Finland, with support from the Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland.

Exhibitors: a team; Lindberg & Erdman, Society Lab with the participation of alt Architects, D.A.T. Pangea + Quatorze, Helsinki Kasbah Combine, Satoshi Ohtaki