PES-Architects

30/10/2026

29/10/2026

Custom-designed seats by PES-Architects/Matti Kankkunen for Musiikkitalo Fuuga, manufactured and installed by Piiroinendesign: over 1,300 concert hall seats shaped for acoustics and comfort, 300 Ateljee Hall seats, and couches and chairs for the foyers.

25/10/2026

🎶Fuuga opens tomorrow!🎉

We're thrilled that Turku Music Centre Fuuga will finally be complete – filled with the movement, music and voices of the people it was designed for 🧡

Welcome!

📷 Marc Goodwin

20/10/2026

We’re honoured to have our two most recent China projects recognised in the Architecture MasterPrize 2026!

The Sino-Finnish Cooperation and Exchange Centre was named a Winner in the Architectural Design – Mixed Use Architecture Category.

The 210,000 sqm low-carbon, mixed-use complex in Nanjing South New Town, China, was completed in 2026 as a national demonstration project for sustainable building. Based on a 2016 competition-winning design, it combines cultural, conference, exhibition, hotel and office functions.

The architecture draws on the concept of breaking ice, expressing cultural dialogue through ice crystal-inspired fragmented volumes with prismatic double-skin façades that support passive heating and cooling.

The project remains the last realised concept designed by PES-Architects’ founding partner Pekka Salminen (1937-2024).

Thank you to the Architecture Masterprize jury for the recognition!

https://architectureprize.com/winners/winner.php?id=9641

Client: Nanjing Southern New City Convention and Exhibition Center Development Co., Ltd

📷 1-2 D**G Image, 3 IN-FIELD Studio

20/10/2026

We’re proud to announce that our two most recent China projects have been awarded at Architecture MasterPrize 2026!

The Nanchang Grand Theatre was honoured with a Best of Best title – a distinction awarded to projects which received the highest scores across all categories. The project was entered in the Architectural Design - Cultural Architecture category.

The Nanchang Grand Theatre is a 45,000 sqm, inviting cultural complex inspired by China’s ceramic heritage. A 1,600-seat, bamboo-clad opera house, 450-seat multifunctional hall, cultural centre and educational facilities are unified by a translucent, cable-suspended ceramic façade and connected through a daylit central passage.

The project exemplifies timeless, contextually rooted public architecture that bridges nature, tradition and contemporary design innovation.

Thank you to the jury for the recognition and congratulations to our winning teams at PES-Helsinki and PES-Shanghai!

https://architectureprize.com/winners/winner.php?id=9413

Client: Nanchang Baohe Real Estate Co.
Local partners: BIAD and ZNF
Year: 2025

📷 1-2 Yuhao Ding, 3-4 Virgile Bertrand

19/10/2026

16/10/2026

We’re delighted to share that the Nanjing Sino-Finnish Culture and Exchange Centre has been selected for the Archello Awards 2026 Longlist in two categories: Mixed Use Building of the Year and Architecture & Glass Award!

The Sino-Finnish Cooperation and Exchange Centre is a 210,000 sqm low-carbon, mixed-use complex in Nanjing South New Town, China, combining cultural, conference, exhibition, hotel and office functions.

The architecture draws on the concept of breaking ice, expressing cultural dialogue through ice crystal-inspired fragmented volumes with prismatic double-skin façades that support passive heating and cooling.

We're grateful to be included on the longlist alongside other inspiring projects and look forward to the announcement of the finalists in November.

📷 1. Songkai Liu, 2. D**G Image, 3. ARCH-ZOOM Studio

15/10/2026

At the heart of Turku Music Centre Fuuga, the spruce-clad concert hall is conceived as an instrument in its own right. Form, material and sound merge into a single experience, creating an intimate, immersive environment that embraces the audience and orchestra both acoustically and visually.

The hall follows the traditional shoebox form, with an enhanced seating layout that improves sightlines to the stage and brings the audience closer to the musicians. Acoustic clarity is balanced with a rich, enveloping reverberation. The double-curved balcony fronts are designed to reflect sound evenly throughout the audience as well as back to the orchestra.

Variable acoustic curtains and adjustable stage elements, including an orchestra pit, allow the space to adapt to different performance formats, both acoustic and amplified.

The Turku Philharmonic Orchestra moved into its long-awaited new home this week and are currently testing and fine-tuning the room acoustics together with Chief Conductor John Storgårds and acoustician Eckhard Kahle. 🎶

📷 Marc Goodwin

12/10/2026

The renewed western entrance to the Kamppi metro station opened in Helsinki today. The entrance and ticket hall are now integrated into the new Kamppi Health and Well-being Centre, to open next spring.

12/10/2026