Pekka Pitknen 1927-2018

Professor Pekka Pitknen (1927 2018) was one of the most significant Finnish architects of the post-war period. He is known as a master of concrete buildings and as a staunch supporter of modernist approach to architecture. He won numerous commissions by architectural competitions. The Chapel of the Holy Cross (1963 1967) in Turku is usually considered as Pitknens main work. From 1950s to 1980s Pitknen built in Turku numerous residential and commercial buildings, often in co-operation with the building company Urakoitsijat Oy. Together with Ola Laiho and Ilpo Raunio, Pitknen planned the extension of the Finnish Parliament (1972 1978). Late in his career Pitknen focused on public buildings, the finish of the career was the Turku court building, completed in 1997. The book presents Pitknens architecture through his whole career, based on research of his archive, the presentations of the works in contemporary magazines as well as the memoir of Pitknen.