Dearq

Dearq | eISSN 2215-969X

Natural Discourses: The Awakening of Reima Pietilä's Ecological Consciousness

No. 43 (2025-09-30)
https://doi.org/10.18389/dearq43.2025.07

Abstract

The 1960 publication of "Études de morphologie en urbanisme" by Reima Pietilä marked a milestone in the process of theoretical experimentation grounded in the pursuit of harmony between humans and the landscape through urban planning and architecture. The ambiguity surrounding the origins of Pietilä's ecological awareness motivates this article, which aims to trace the emergence and contextual development of his interest in the landscape dimension at the urban scale. Drawing on previously unpublished materials from the archives of the Museum of Finnish Architecture (MFA), the research concludes that Pietilä's participation in CIAM X (1956) was a critical turning point, and that the Märsta-Valsta Master Plan competition (1961) constituted the first practical application of his theoretical ideas, both of which are analyzed in detail in this article.

Keywords: urban planning, landscape, Finland, rural environments, CIAM X, Pietilä, Märsta-Valsta

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