PES-Architects

Construction begins on the New Aviation Museum in Finland! 🏗️✈️

Construction of the New Aviation Museum will begin in April in Vantaa’s Aviapolis district. The Finnish Aviation Museum Foundation and contractor Lapti signed the agreement for the construction phase on Monday, 23 March 2026. The museum is planned to open at the turn of 2027–2028.

The Finnish Aviation Museum is a national museum responsible for preserving and exhibiting the history of Finnish aviation. The new premises aim to attract over 100,000 visitors a year in versatile exhibition spaces showcasing the history and future of aviation. The 7,000 m2 building will also accommodate event facilities, a café, a museum shop and other activity-related facilities such as flight simulators.

“The start of construction on the New Aviation Museum is a historic moment. This is not just about a new building, but about revitalising the entire cultural heritage of Finnish aviation for future generations. We are now taking a step toward the era of the Aviation Museum – a place that brings together history, technology and visions of the future in both aviation and space in a way that inspires and resonates with a wide audience,” says Jarkko Konttinen, Chairman of the Finnish Aviation Museum Foundation.

“I believe this project embodies the saying, well planned is half done. Thanks to our excellent collaboration, we’ve been able to achieve all of the project’s objectives from museum operations and the cityscape to cost and schedule management. It’s great that we’re able to get this fantastic building project off the ground during these challenging times,” says Tuomas Silvennoinen, principal designer of the project at PES-Architects.


Suomen Ilmailumuseo - The Finnish Aviation Museum Rakennusliike Lapti A-Insinöörit

PES Architects’ long-term hybrid project, the Sino-Finnish Centre, was officially opened this week in Nanjing, China, after completion in 2025. The event marked the culmination of the exceptionally demanding and complex project spanning nearly a decade, starting in 2016, when our design won the invited architectural competition aimed at six Finnish practices.

The winning proposal was developed under the lead of Professor Pekka Salminen, PES-Architects’ founding partner, who passed away in 2024. It remains his last completed design.

The core design concept is based on the metaphor of “breaking the ice” between cultures, expressed architecturally through building forms inspired by ice blocks and ice crystals. When viewed up close, the fragmented glass prism façade structure imitates ice crystals and changes colour and tone under different lighting conditions.

The 210,000 m² hybrid development comprises an office tower, a 100 m Radisson Blu hotel tower, a conference centre, an exhibition centre and timber exhibition pavilions.

Sustainability was a key starting point throughout the design process. The double-skin façade system enables passive cooling in summer and heat recovery in winter. The load-bearing structures of the pavilions were realised using CLT and glulam timber elements.

Completed under the lead of chief designers Tuomas Silvennoinen and Jyri Eskola, the project is a result of long-term and close collaboration between PES Helsinki and Shanghai offices, the client, and local partners in China.

Thank you to everyone who contributed throughout the years!

📷 PES-Architects