2 Euro BU

Raili Pietilä, née Paatelainen, studied architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology (Technische Hochschule Helsinki). From the 1950s onwards, she worked in Reima Pietilä’s office. The two developed designs jointly; nevertheless, in contemporary perception the office was long associated primarily with Reima’s name. Later research and exhibitions have highlighted Raili’s contribution to their shared work more strongly. The coin thus also addresses the question of how joint authorship in architecture can be made visible.

The Pietiläs’ work emerged during a period when Finnish architecture was often associated internationally with a sober, functionalist modernism. Although their buildings follow modern construction principles, they often feature irregular floor plans, sculpturally shaped façades and a close relationship with the surrounding landscape. Sources of inspiration included landforms, plants, animals and the structure of the Finnish language. Their designs therefore could not easily be assigned to a single, uniform style.

Their well-known joint works include the Kaleva Church in Tampere, the Dipoli building on the campus in Otaniemi, the Suvikumpu housing complex in Tapiola and the Tampere City Library. The latter bears the name “Metso”, the Finnish word for capercaillie; its overall form is associated with the silhouette of the bird. The Finnish Embassy in New Delhi also originated from their office. Together with Mäntyniemi, they also designed the official residence of the President of Finland in Helsinki.

The choice of the coin’s subject therefore refers not only to an individual biography, but also to a shared body of architectural work that shaped Finland’s public, sacred and political spaces. At the same time, it foregrounds Raili Pietilä’s role as an independently responsible designer and corrects the earlier perception of the office, which was strongly focused on her husband.