UNIT 5

Speculating upon the maintenance of Finland's granite sculptures, architecture, and landscapes in the era of the Anthropocene, an institute of national importance is proposed in the heart of the country’s capital - Helsinki. As granite has the status of a national symbol of Finland, the project celebrates sculpture, quarrying, and the Finnish relationships with rock within its program and design. Through the merging of an archive, a museum, and a stone manufacturing facility, it aims to house active participation in preserving and innovating Helsinki’s stone heritage, which UNESCO failed to legally protect. Overall, the ambition of the project is to create a living quarry architecture, a “landscape monument” where layers of new granite heritage evolve over time helping to upkeep the Finnish national identity for the future.