Tuomas Lemmetyinen

Interior designer Tuomas Lemmetyinen is FCINY’s artist-in-residency for the month of May. Lemmetyinen’s work focuses on the design of cultural buildings. He is currently working on the renovation of City Theatres in Helsinki and Turku. 

One of Lemmetyinen's most prominent works is the Helsinki Music Centre. Lemmetyinen works for Turku-based LPR Architects which won an international design competition award for the building. The winning entry was titled 'A Mezza Voce', referring to an understated building that aims to unify the surroundings. The forms of the outside are deliberately simple, leaving the building to reveal a more varied and dramatic interior. As a meeting place for music aficionados, music students and musicians, the Music Centre offers its visitors a variety of experiences. The main users of the building are the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (HKO), the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSO) and the Sibelius Academy of the University of Arts Helsinki.

During his residency Lemmetyinen will study how architecture and design have been adjusted to the different requirements of cultural institutions in New York City; how the visual and practical implementations are integrated into artistic and commercial functions. Lemmetyinen hopes that the observations and experiences gained during the residency will improve his own perception and know-how of the interior design of cultural buildings. He aims to visit various cultural institutions within the city – such as Lincoln Center Theater and National Sawdust – and meet their users.