Helsinki: Affordable Housing for Diverse Urban Life

Talli Architects works across architecture, interior design, and building heritage. The practice combines a sense of history with a view to the future, creating beautiful and sustainable architecture with the user always at the centre.

Talli’s story began in 1995 with the restoration of Lasipalatsi, one of Finland’s most elegant examples of Functionalist architecture. Originally intended as a temporary structure, the building had become worn down over time. It took the enthusiasm and determination of a young team of architects to transform it into a new cinema and media centre. 

Today, Talli specialises in refurbishment and adaptive reuse, residential design, and educational and care environments for different age groups. Alongside public projects, the practice develops innovative concepts for housing. Its work has received recognition in both Finnish and international media.

As Talli Architects celebrates its 30th anniversary, the practice is also entering a new phase. In 2027, Talli will merge with A-Konsultit, another long-established Helsinki-based architecture practice. The new office will continue as an independent, architect-led practice, strengthening its expertise and resources while building on a shared commitment to high-quality, sustainable and human-centred architecture.

Minna Lukander is an architect, CEO and founding partner of Talli Architects, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025. Alongside leading the practice, she is actively involved in design work and often acts as principal designer in demanding projects. Her work focuses on sustainable architecture, adaptive reuse, housing, learning environments and care environments. She is interested in the continuity of the built environment and in creating spaces that are meaningful, functional and supportive of everyday life. For Lukander, architecture is not only about buildings, but about the relationship between people, places and time.

Tiina Päivilä-Kari is an architect and partner at Talli Architects and she has acted as lead architectural designer and principal designer in several housing and renovation projects, including timber residential developments and urban infill schemes. She is interested in developing sustainable, well-functioning environments that respond to changing needs and support everyday life. Her work combines architectural design with the coordination of complex projects.