Jaakko Torvinen
Hi, I’m Jaakko Torvinen, an architect and a doctoral researcher specializing in wooden construction. I live in Helsinki, but I’m originally from Lapland. I graduated with top grades from Aalto University with a degree in architecture, and I’m currently pursuing my doctoral degree there. The Kone Foundation awarded me a four-year research grant for my doctoral studies, for which I am grateful. Prior to that, the Asko Foundation funded the first year of my doctoral studies as a visiting researcher at the Aarhus School of Architecture. A turning point in my career came when, for my master’s thesis in architecture, I designed the award-winning and renowned Pikku-Finlandia, a temporary wooden structure that served as a temporary conference building for Finlandia Hall, which I designed together with my fellow students. Its unique feature is whole pine trees serving as load-bearing columns. As I waded through the snowy forest selecting those trees, I knew I had chosen the right profession.
My dissertation research and the recently completed Puusauna, which won an award at the Wallpaper* Design Awards, continue this theme.
Before starting my architecture studies, I worked as a real estate agent, a sales manager at a record label, and a computer technician, among other things. My diverse work history gives me a broad perspective on design. I wanted to study architecture because I wanted a creative profession that would allow me to have a positive impact on the world.
My work has received international recognition. I was named a Wallpaper* Next Generation Architect in 2022, was a finalist in the EU Mies Awards Young Talent category in 2023, and won the Life-Enhancer of the Year award at the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2026 for my Puusauna design.
HONORS AND AWARDS
2026 Wallpaper* Design Award 2026 – Life Enhancer of The Year – Puusauna
2024 Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation grant study trip to Japan to work together with local carpenters
2023 EUMies Awards Young Talent – Finalist
2023 ARTS Artistic activity of the year – Pikku-Finlandia
2023 RIBA President’s Medal nominee
2023 Oskari Vilamo fund award – Pikku-Finland Master’s Thesis
2022 Winner of the public vote - Puupalkinto – Finnish Wood Award
2022 Honorable mention - Puupalkinto – Finnish Wood Award
2022 Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation grant study trip to Japan to study the use of natural wood in architecture
2022 Wallpaper* Magazine, Next Generation 2022
The rising star of the year
2021 Stiftelsen Pro Helsingfors award for Little Finland Master’s Thesis.
2021 Sara Hildén Art Museum International Architecture Competition Honorable Mention
2019 Two-part architecture student competition for Finlandia Hall's temporary conference building “Pikku-Finlandia”
1st prize of the student competition 2019
2019 Architect Annikki Paasikivi scholarship 2019 for academic success
2018 Architect Annikki Paasikivi scholarship 2018 for academic success
ACADEMIC RECORD
05-12/2026 Research residency, Puistokatu 4, Helsinki, Finland
02-04/2026 Visiting Studio Instructor, Carleton University, Azrieli School of Architecture & Urbanism, Ottawa, Canada
Invited visiting studio instructor in graduate design studio focusing on non-standard wood architecture, design and experimental hands-on studio.
2025 Conference talk and exhibition, ICSA 2025, Antwerp, Belgium
2025 Article: Unlocking the Potential of Misfit Wood with Modern Digital Tools: A Bundled Pillar
Torvinen, J., Kuittinen, M., Aagaard, A. K., Larsen, N. M., Pedersen, J. & Sieder-Semlitsch, J., 8 Jul 2025
2025 Article: Misfit wood from Finnish forests : interview insights on opportunities and challenges of repurposing non-standard wood for long-lived products
Torvinen, J., Hughes, M., Toppinen, A. & Kuittinen, M., 30 Aug 2025, In: European Journal of Wood and Wood Products.83, 12 p., 169.
06/2025 Invited talk at Osaka World EXPO 2025 as part of Aalto University NEB event at European pavilion.
04/2025 Invited talk at Forum Wood Building Baltic, Riga, Latvia
09-12/2024 Researcher residency, Villa Karo, Finnish-West African Culture Institute, Benin
09-10/2024 Building with misfit wood / Designs for a Cooler Planet
Torvinen, J. & Kuittinen, M., 6 Sept 2024
01-05/2024 Visiting Researcher, Aarhus Schools of Architecture, Aarhus, Denmark.
2023-2024 Co-instructor in Wood Program, Aalto University
06/2024 Visiting Workshop Instructor, Kogakuin University, Tokyo, Japan
Invited visiting instructor for wood architecture workshop by Suzuki Studio, Kogakuin University, Tokyo
2022-2023 University Teacher and co-instructor in Wood Program, Wood Studio, Wood in Architecture and Construction and in Industrial Wood Construction courses, Aalto University
10/2022 Visiting Scholar, Oregon State University
2022 Building blocks of a better future - Exhibition
Exhibition in Helsinki Design Week: Designs for a Cooler Planet - Aalto Univeristy, Espoo, Finland Duration: 7 Sep 2022 – 12 Oct 2022, Heikkinen, Pekka, Zubillaga, Laura, Torvinen, Jaakko & Kuittinen, Matti.
2022 Natural form and industrial building: Two case studies
Tidwell, Philip, Heikkinen, Pekka, & Torvinen, Jaakko. (2022). Natural form and industrial building: Two case studies. 311-318. Structures and Architecture (ICSA 2022). Paper presented at International Conference on Structures and Architecture, Aalborg, Denmark.
2021-2022 University Teacher and co-instructor in Wood Program, Wood Studio, Wood in Architecture and Construction and in Industrial Wood Construction courses, Aalto University
2022 – 2023 Activities related to Pikku-Finlandia (Little Finlandia)
More than 50 hosted academic or non-academic visitors at Pikku-Finlandia and more than 20 lectures or public talks about Pikku-Finlandia.