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  • Jatulintarha

  • Jatulintarha

  • Jatulintarha

Jatulintarha

Address: Kallisentie 10, 67700 Kokkola, Finland
Commissioned by: City of Kokkola
Artists: Jaana Partanen and Heikki Lamusuo
Pa-La team: Outi Taskinen
Architecture: Architects’ office Perko Ltd
Material: Print color on concrete / plaster surface and paint

09 / 2014
07 / 2015

A nine-part public artwork, Jatulintarha (Troy Town), is situated at the Isokylä community centre, Kokkola. The artwork has been inspired by the prehistoric constructions, signs and symbols found in the vicinity. The community centre designed by architects' office Perko Oy consists of a village-style cluster of buildings in accordance with the old Ostrobothnian idea of a central village. Jatulintarha connects to this idea naturally, taking it still farther into the history of the area.

Labyrinths are known already from prehistoric times. Some writings mention as the makers of the Finnish labyrinths giants or jotuns (in finnish jatuli), who were always of a foreign and unknown people. The meaning of the constructions made by the jotuns is conjectured by modern researchers: they are deemed be, for example, places of play, entertainment or the calendar. In the Jatulintarha artworks, a labyrinthine network of games is built from signs on the floor and walls of lobby spaces, where it becomes an integral part of the concrete floor and walls of the lobby spaces – and thus a part of the everyday life and festivals, games and teaching of the community centre. For example, there are areas in the courtyard where particularly the smallest schoolchildren can, independently or under guidance, build their own troy towns, cup stones and other constructions and patterns known from history or still completely unknown.

Jatulintarha (Troy town), part 1, Puumainen, 2015.
Jatulintarha (Troy town), part 2, Kolmiomainen, 2015.
Jatulintarha (Troy town), part 3, Puhkonainen, 2015.
Jatulintarha (Troy town), part 4, Sortavalan Putsinlahti, 2015.
Jatulintarha (Troy town), part 5, Jatulintarha, 2015.
Jatulintarha (Troy town), part 6, Vendelin muna, 2015.
Jatulintarha (Troy town), part 7, Laihia Vähäkyrö, 2015.
Jatulintarha (Troy town), part 8, Leikkimäki, 2015.
Jatulintarha (Troy town), part 9, Appelgrenin tyyppi, 2015.

Jatulintarha, 2015, above: part 1, Puumainen, beneath: part 2, Kolmiomainen. Photos © Pa-La

Jatulintarha, 2015, part 3, Puhkonainen. Kuva © Pa-La

Jatulintarha, 2015, part 4, Sortavalan Putsinlahti. Photo © Pa-La

ANCIENT SYMBOLS GET NEW PURPOSES

Jatulintarha, 2015, part 5, Jatulintarha. Photo © Pa-La

Jatulintarha, 2015, part 6, Vendelin muna. Photo © Pa-La

Mythology and stories blend with historical facts, feeding the imagination. The artworks have been made with print colours and templates directly as an integral part of the concrete and plaster surfaces of the buildings.

Jatulintarha, 2015, part 7, Laihia Vähäkyrö. Photo © Pa-La

Jatulintarha, 2015, above: part 8, Leikkimäki, underneath: part 9, Appelgrenin tyyppi. Photos © Pa-La

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We think that adaptability is more important than flexibility when it comes to creative collaboration.
The ability to tell the same story, even if the amount of pages in the book would change. With the experience of hundreds of both small and large projects, we can deduce that even though we are very proud of what we have accomplished, the merit for our best work goes to our clients. They have shared our point of view, that we can succeed only because we share the same vision and dream. We design spaces, buildings and environments that are comfortable to live and work in, pleasant to the eye and sustainable. We are a creative design and architecture office, we want to create an inclusive world all around us - Piece by Piece.
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