Studio Trip to Helsinki

The latest studio trip saw Piercy&Company visit Helsinki, Finland, and its surroundings. The team had the chance to explore a number of Alvar Aalto projects, including Studio Aalto & the Aalto House. Aalto’s use of a simple and refined material palette, including brick, timber and light, creates buildings in harmony within their context and are beautifully tailored to their user's needs, something our studio greatly admires and strives to achieve.

With the civic nature of buildings always a key driver in Piercy&Company’s work and with a few new civic projects in the studio, the team drew inspiration from visiting a number of fantastic recent public buildings. Turku City Library (JKMM Architects) with its light filled reading rooms and clever use of materials and Temppeliaukio Church (designed by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen) grounded in rock with a soaring concrete and copper roof were highlights of the trip.