Arrive in Helsinki and meet with specialised guide. Transfer from the airport to the centre of town, to the SAFA offices and meet with an architect from the National body for Architects to discuss trends, materials, competitions and laws concerning the construction of private and public buildings. The discussion also covers how culture, training and climate influence Finnish architecture.
After the talk, walk to the nearby Temppeliaukio Rock Church (Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, 1969), completely dug out of rock, with a ceiling that is made up of a single copper coil, thirty kilometers long. In the late afternoon, arrival and check in to the Klaus K Hotel, the first design hotel in Helsinki, opened in 2006.
Evening walk to the trendy 'Mecca' restaurant. After dinner, guided walk around the historic centre of town, through the Neo Classical Senate Square, considered one of the most beautiful squares in the world and Esplanade Park, with its’ bars and cafès. The walk covers buildings by Alvar Aalto, Eliel Saarinen, Carl Ludwig Engel, Anttimatti Siikala, and others. Return to hotel.

Breakfast buffet at the hotel and departure for a four hour tour by private coach exploring the urban planning of the city and various architecture styles present from Jungend to finnish minimalism and functionalism, as well as contemporary projects. The tour includes Alvar Aalto’s home (Aalto, 1935) the Dipoli building (Raili and Reima Pietiltä), Helsinki Central Station (Eliel Saarinen, 1904), the National Museum (Gesellius/ Lindgren/ Saarinen, 1910), the Stockmann building (Sigurd Frosterus, 1916), the Olympic Stadium (Yrjö Lindgren and Toivo Jäntti, 1952), the House of Culture (Aalto, 1958), Finlandia Hall (the largest project by Aalto, completed in 1979 three years after his death), and the Helsinki Opera House.
Lunch at the Museum Café of the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art (Steven Holl, 1993) and on to the postwar Tapiola Garden City (masterplan and several buildings by Aarne Ervi), with several modern and contemporary award winning buildings in the area. Transfer to the Viikki sustainable quarter (2000-today). Visit of the area, home to 13,000 people and work place for 6,000 (between the school, research centre and university on site). The area has a 35% reduction in energy consumption, compared to the average in the city. Walk through the gardens and vegetable patches between the various buildings and complexes to view macro and micro energy saving criteria. Visit to the Viikki Chappel, (JKMM Architects, 2000), return to hotel, dinner on own.

Breakfast buffet at the hotel and private boat tour of the archipelago passing by Keilalahti, a concentration of ultra modern office buildings, like that of the Nokia Headquarters and Research Centre (Sitonen/ Helin, 1999-2001) and the Kone Tower (Sarc/Antti Matti Siikala). The tour proceeds to the new quarters on the east coast of the city where post industrial docklands have become super modern residential areas, like Rouholahti, Jätkäsaari e Munkkisaari (mostly developed in the 90’s). Then, lunch in the area and departure for the Otaniemi Campus in the nearby town of Espoo. Guided walk through the Campus (masterplan and numerous buildings by Aalto) and the Otaniemi Chappel (Heikki and Saija Siren, 1957). Return to the centre of town, to the Helsinki Design District near the hotel. Free time to visit designer’s spaces and local atelier and return on own to hotel, dinner.

Breakfast buffet at the hotel and private coach transfer to Jyväskylä in central Finland, birthplace of Aalto (about 280 km from Helsinki). Check-in to the hotel and early lunch. In early afternoon, six hour tour of Jyväskylä and surroundings including several of the 45 buildings and complexes designed by Aalto, like that of the University of Jyväskylä (1951-71), Worker’s Club (1925), Muurame Church (1929), Villa Viitatorni (1962), the Musuem of Central Finland (1961), Cultural and Administrative Centre (1964), and the Alvar Aalto Museum (1973). Move on to the town of Säynätsalo (about 17 km) to see the Town Hall (1952), and then to the nearby experimental house at Muuratsalo (1954). Stop at the complex that won the award for the experimental architecture competition, Europan 6, just south of Jyväskylä, by A-ratas studio. Return to hotel for dinner.

Breakfast buffet at the hotel and departure for Tampere (about two hours drive), to see the work of Reima Pietilä (Valeva Church and the Metso Library). The tour continues with the Hervanta complex and art nouveu St John’s Cathedral by Lars Sonck (1907). Return to Helsinki and outbound flight.