The Spirit of Kuusamo

“An airport has to reflect the spirit of its location,” says architect Seppo Koutaniemi, who designed Kuusamo Airport 20 years ago and who has been responsible for its several subsequent enlargements.

Koutaniemi has a powerful affinity with the nature and landscape of Kuusamo, where he grew up and still lives. When the Civil Aviation Administration initially asked for “something different” for the airport and suggested wood as the material, a powerful, erect structure of timber horizontals began to emerge from his drawing board, firmly gripped by “bear claws” to the ground.

“For the facade cladding I drew a 45 millimetre thick, 220 mm high rebated panel, to be painted blue to allude to the lakes and rapids of Kuusamo and the overarching sky. It also speaks of those moments of deep contemplation when you watch the sun rise and set here,” he explains.

Blue combines with pastel green inside the passenger terminal to recall the woods, heaths and bogs of the Koillismaa region. A high skylight illuminates the long, rather low building. The sense of spacious airiness is emphasised by the laminated wood structures and steel grids of the ceiling and the amusing, dangling lamps.

“We have had to expand the airport over the years to accommodate the constant increase in passengers,” says Koutaniemi. “So the architect has to give priority to the needs and operational requirements of the users – the passengers and airport staff – and satisfy them. But at Kuusamo in particular, we have to add a dash of the exotic and a taste of tourist service to the airport structure.”