Every other year the Finnish Building Information foundation awards a prize for significant work for the renewal of architecture, named after architects Reima and Raili Pietilä. The award is given for a young architect or a group of architects.

This year we are honoured to announce that the prizewinner is Uusi Kaupunki collective (New Urban collective), of which Kaleidoscope is a member since 2015.

Uusi Kaupunki is a company started in 2013 by six young Finnish architecture offices. Today 13 offices, including over 30 international architects, urban designers and service designers, form the collective. The collective responds to the changing challenges of the contemporary urban design through methods that inspire and activate the citizens.

Professor Markku Hedman, chairman of the jury, states that ”Uusi Kaupunki collective, formed by the architects of the new generation, has demostrated that they pursue urban design with the unprejudice attitude required by our time. On the grounds for granting the award he adds: ”The collective and interactive working methods of Uusi Kaupunki respond excellently to the needs of current city planning: the demand of extensive dialogue and the enforcement of the role of the inhabitants.”

The previous laureates include among other ALA Architects and JKMM Architects, as well as several of the professors in Finnish architecture schools.

Kaleidoscope will continue to work with participatory processes and look forward to develop Uusi Kaupunki as well as to find new collaborators in Finland and abroad. The award money will be used for building up a network for Nordic architectural collaboration. We express our deep gratitude for this recognition from our peers and colleagues.