The the three members of the Pre-Selection Jury and its Chair are appointed by the Executive Board of the Finnish Association of Architects. The Pre-selecton Jury proposes 3-5 candidates, among which the Juror selects the winner of the Prize. The members of the Pre-Selection Jury are appointed for two terms.
Chairperson of the Pre-selection Jury
Architect Jorma Mukala (b. 1954) has served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Finnish Architectural Review since 2009. Mukala began his career at Antti Katajamäki’s practice in Tampere, where he worked from 1985 until 1990. After that, he started his own design practice, where he carried out various small-scale projects. Examples include the memorial for the victims of the Estonia ferry disaster, which he created in collaboration with the sculptor Villu Jaanisoo.
Mukala has taught at various art and architectural schools throughout his career. In his articles, he has discussed the development of contemporary architecture. He served as the architectural critic for Aamulehti newspaper in 2000–2008.
Esa Ruskeepää (b. 1980) established his own practice in Helsinki in 2012. The practice currently employs 10 people. Ruskeepää has achieved critical acclaim in several high-profile architectural competitions both in Finland and abroad. He has taught public buildings design at Aalto University in 2008–2013. Ruskeepää received a state artist grant in 2009.
Pentti Kareoja (b. 1959) is the Professor of Spatial Design at Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture and Partner at ARK-house Architects. Kareoja has been awarded the European Architectural Prize 1995 (Rauma government office building), the SIO Award 2002 (Westendinpuisto day-care centre), the Finnish State Prize for Architecture 2002 (ARK-house Architects) and the Steel Structure of the Year prize 2002 (Audio-Visual School).
Kareoja has several national and international positions of trust in the field of architecture. He has been a jury member in more than 30 architectural competitions.
Juulia Kauste (b. 1967) is director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture. During her period at the MFA since 2010 she has developed the organization with the main focus on the role of architecture in contemporary society. She is a sought-after speaker at numerous international professional conferences, and serves as a jury member or advisor for several architecture competitions and prizes.
She has served as a member of the board of the International Design Foundation 2010–2013 developing the city’s World Design Capital 2012 programme. She has been vice president of the Architecture Information Centre Finland since 2012 and a member of the National Council for Architecture and Design Finland 2010–2013.