We regret to announce that Professor Pekka Salminen, co-founder of PES-Architects and author of many important architectural projects in Finland and around the world, passed away in Helsinki on May 30.
Born in Tampere, Finland, on September 11, 1937, the architect received his education at Helsinki University of Technology, from which he graduated in 1966. Shortly after graduation, he began working alongside acclaimed Finnish architects Aarne Ervi and Tim Pentilla. In 1968, he founded his own studio, initially known as Koivisto-Salminen-Siivola Architects KSS, which eventually evolved in 2006 into PES-Architects, an office recognized today. In addition to his purely design work, Professor Pekka Salminen has also been active in the architectural and scientific community, being a member of the Finnish Academy of Technical Sciences and serving as president of the Finnish Association of Architects SAFA. For his achievements, he was honored with the title of professor, conferred on him by the President of Finland in 1998.
versatile architect
Spanning the globe, Professor Pekka Salminen's work is characterized by a functional combination of traditions drawn from archetypal Finnish architecture and modern design solutions. As an architect, Pekka Salminen has been characterized by remarkable flexibility and versatility, being responsible for the realization of projects as diverse as the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, the campus of the Tampere Police College and the revitalization of the Marienkirche in Neubrandenburg and its adaptation to serve as a concert hall. Professor Pekka Salminen's international work has also been recognized outside Europe, mainly in China, where, among other things, the Grand Theater in Wuxi and the Strait Art and Culture Center in Fuzhou were built according to his designs. China is also the country where the first foreign branch of the PES-Architects office was opened, and the site of the construction of the professor's latest realization - the complex of buildings of the China-Finland Center in Nanjing.
meritorious to polish architecture
An important part of Pekka Salminen's achievements was his international work. As early as the 1980s, Professor Salminen began working with architects in Germany, Croatia and Poland. The support that Professor Salminen gave to the Polish architectural community included organizing apprenticeships for young Polish architects, helping to organize the first editions of the International Architecture Biennale in Cracow, or making substantive contributions to the discussion on the future of Warsaw's Za Żelazną Bramą estate. The professor's activities were honored by the SARP awarding him the Bene Merentibus medal, a decoration awarded to persons of particular merit to Polish architecture. Professor Pekka Salminen was also a long-time friend of Romuald Loegler, a renowned Krakow architect and founder of Architektura & Biznes magazine.
