Shaping the Future with Architectural Design Competitions

Keynote
Carl Bäckstrand, White Arkitekter

Carl Bäckstrand is partner and Deputy CEO of White Arkitekter, a leading Scandinavian practice in sustainable architecture. His work focuses on circularity, nature-based solutions and social value. White Arkitekter’s projects include Makasiiniranta in Helsinki, Stockholm Wood City and the Kiruna masterplan.

Bäckstrand is a Board member of the Architects Council of Europe and advocates for collaboration between architecture, business, science and policymakers.

Keynote
Rainer Mahlamäki, Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects

Rainer Mahlamäki, former Professor of Architecture at the University of Oulu, co-founded Lahdelma & Mahlamäki Architects together with Ilmari Lahdelma in 1997. His most significant works include the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, the Finnish Forest Museum Lusto in Punkaharju, the Żurawie mixed-use complex in Gdańsk, Poland, and the Lost Shtetl Jewish Museum in Šeduva, Lithuania.

Mahlamäki is a sought-after judge in architectural competitions both in Finland and internationally. In 2017, the King of Sweden awarded him the prestigious Prince Eugen Medal in recognition of outstanding artistic achievement.

Speaker
Anni Sinnemäki, Helsinki City Council

Anni Sinnemäki is a Helsinki City Council member and Vice Chair of the City Council. Over more than ten years in Helsinki’s city government, she served first as Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning and Real Estate and subsequently as Deputy Mayor for the Urban Environment.

Her work has focused particularly on advancing Helsinki’s ambitious climate targets and finding the right balance between urban growth and nature.

Photo: Vilhelm Sjöström

Speaker
Juho Grönholm, ALA Architects

Juho Grönholm is a Finnish architect and founding partner of ALA Architects, which he co-founded in 2005. The practice was established following a win in the international competition for the Kilden Performing Arts Centre in Kristiansand, Norway, and has since achieved numerous competition successes, including Helsinki Central Library Oodi and the expansion of Helsinki Airport Terminal 2.

Grönholm has served as a competition juror and is currently a member of the jury for the 2026 competition for the Itäkeskus public transport terminal in Helsinki.

Host and moderator
Pekka Pakkanen, Planetary Architecture

Pekka Pakkanen is an architect who has been recognised in architectural, art, science and innovation competitions, and is also known as a television personality.

His practice, Planetary Architecture, explores sustainable approaches to delivering high-quality architecture within planetary boundaries.

Speaker
Dorte Kirstine Sibast, the Danish Association of Architects

Dorte Kirstine Sibast is an architect (MAA) and Head of Development at the Danish Association of Architects. Educated at the Aarhus School of Architecture, she combines a background in architectural design with a master’s degree in business coaching. She previously worked at C.F. Møller Architects, bringing experience from both architectural practice and strategic development.

At the Danish Association of Architects, she leads initiatives aimed at strengthening the role of architecture in addressing complex societal challenges — from sustainability and transformation to new models of collaboration across the built environment sector. Her current work includes the development of Project Competition 2.0, a rethinking of competition formats as a strategic tool in the earliest phases of public projects.

Speaker
Gisle Nataas, the National Association of Norwegian Architects

Gisle Nataas is an architect and Head of Competitions at the National Association of Norwegian Architects (NAL). He works with the development and organisation of architecture and design competitions, advising clients and public authorities on competition formats, processes and architectural quality. Nataas studied architecture at the Bergen School of Architecture and the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen. Alongside his work at NAL, he is a sound artist and the creator of Architecture as an Instrument, an ongoing project exploring architecture, materials and space through sound.

Photo: Cesc Sales

Speaker
Kirsti Rantanen, the Finnish Association of Architects

Kirsti Rantanen is an architect (SAFA) and Competition Adviser at the Finnish Association of Architects. She promotes the Finnish Association of Architects’ architectural competition activities and related services, including the EUROPAN competition for young architects. She also provides advisory services to public and private competition organizers, develops architectural competitions, and runs SAFA’s competition committee.