Seam is a spatial practice.

We are two young architects based in Helsinki, enthusiastic about representation, obscurities and the underlying principles of architecture. We seek to develop and expand the architectural discourse in Finland.

We like to analyze and design exhibitions.

Also, we work comfortably with interiors, custom furniture and graphics

et cetera.

We see architecture as a rather broad field and are always interested in new perspectives, in particular those that challenge what it means to practice architecture within the contemporary condition.

Feel free to get in touch.

Liminal Material Culture is a documenting project examining the changing landscape of the former harbor areas of Sörnäinen while they await being turned into fresh new housing and office buildings. Forgotten and seemingly empty areas within urban landscapes are often referred to as wastelands, implying a waste of space. From a modernist function-driven or real estate point of view there is nothing there, but these kinds of areas can host a diverse range of both human and non-human activity.

At Kosminen, Liminal Material Culture was presented as a collection of photographs and pseudo-archaeological objects. The exhibition was also accompanied by an essay.

Some photos from the series were published earlier in S'lim #3 by Selim

We were asked by Aalto University to design an exhibition about campus development.

"The exhibition showcases the diversity of cultural, built and grown layers of the Aalto University campus. In Otaniemi, densification and urbanisation meet prominent architectural heritage and rich natural environments. Instead of seeing different aspects of the Otaniemi area as contradictory to one another, their co-existence can be embraced as a unique resource for the future campus."

We intersected the exhibition’s two-dimensional typeface with the three-dimensional environment to create a distinctive and enticing look for the space.

Visual identity by Tiia Lindström and Anna Muchenikova.

The exhibition looks at the history of Otaniemi in a nonlinear way. We used semi-transparent prints to juxtapose images from different time periods.

We helped out with designing and building out Kosminen gallery when they moved to a new space. Kosminen is an artist-run non profit art space that's been running since 2016.

A new bookshelf was needed for Khaos bookshop and the gallery's photobook archive. A new staircase and exhibition wall were also built. The components were designed and precut/CNC-milled for quick and easy assembly by non-skilled labor (the gallerist and yours truly) with basic tools.

Aalto University Communications Services asked us to design a movable structure that allows students, faculty and visitors to leave behind small notes with stories of what they consider the university to be about.

The structure folds flat for storage. The writing surface stabilizes it when in use. Furniture design by Seam, visual design by Anna Muchenikova, built by Studio Ville Auvinen

For the past ten years, a growing group of architects have flocked around object-oriented ontology (OOO). The philosophy appears to evoke passion among its followers and the thrillingly strange projects from the OOO crew seem to test architecture’s limits and basic assumptions. We felt it necessary to get to know this relatively new school of philosophy, especially how it relates to architecture. In spring of 2019 we were awarded a working grant by the Alfred Kordelin Foundation. In June we self-published a small booklet that presented the basics of OOO in Finnish.

Physical copies are soon available at the Khaos Publishing bookshop. You can also download a pdf.