Side Events Associated with the Seminar

• Places that Create Happiness. The Houses of Louis I. Kahn and Alvar Aalto.  Places that Create Happiness (exhibition at Kuressaare Town Hall Gallery from 07.09. to 10.10.2026)
•  Places that Create Happiness. Louis Kahn and Alvar Aalto Film Days
•  Visions of the Kahn Center by ETH Zurich master's students and "productive houses" by AHO Oslo students (exhibition at Kuressaare Episcopal Castle)
  
  

	Marco Falsetti Italian architect, educator and architectural historian. His research focuses on Louis Kahn, urban form and architectural theory. Falsetti is co-author of Rome and the Legacy of Louis I. Kahn and is considered one of Europe’s leading Kahn scholars. Read more ...
	Alessandro Vassella Swiss architect and one of the leading experts on Louis Kahn’s work. Specialising in sustainable architecture and the conservation of historic buildings, he has authored and edited several important Kahn publications. Read more ...
	Per Olaf Fjeld Norwegian architect, professor emeritus and former student of Louis Kahn at the University of Pennsylvania. Internationally recognised as an architect, educator and author, he has extensively explored Kahn’s connections to Nordic architecture. Read more ...
	Gregory Melitonov Kahn Architect, educator and co-founder of Taller KEN. His work combines architecture, community engagement and design-build education. As the grandson of Louis I. Kahn, he brings both a personal and professional perspective to the architect’s legacy.
	Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen Finnish architect, author and architectural writer known for numerous publications on Alvar Aalto, Eliel Saarinen and Finnish residential architecture. Her work focuses on Nordic architectural heritage and domestic environments. Read more ...
	Tommi Lindh Finnish architect and heritage conservation expert serving as CEO of the Alvar Aalto Foundation. His work focuses on the preservation of modern architecture and cultural heritage, promoting high-quality conservation and restoration projects. With decades of experience in architectural history and heritage protection, he has held key roles at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, the Finnish Heritage Agency, and in private architectural practice. Read more ...
	Marju Kõivupuu Estonian folklorist, cultural historian, and author. As a Senior Research Fellow at Tallinn University, she has explored the relationships between people, landscapes, cultural memory, and heritage sites, highlighting their role in shaping community identity. Her work examines places as carriers of memory, belonging, and lived experience.
	Kathrine Næss Norwegian architect and Associate Professor at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design (AHO). Her research examines the relationship between daylight, structure and living environments, with a particular focus on housing and wellbeing in northern latitudes.
	Neeme Raud Conference Moderator. Neeme Raud is an acclaimed Estonian journalist and international correspondent. As part of the Kahn 120 anniversary program held in New York in 2021, he moderated the discussion “Louis Kahn as a Teacher” with Charles E. Dagit Jr., a former student of Louis Kahn.

Programme and Presentations

• Preparatory Meetings
• 17.00 Exhibition Tour – Places That Make People Happy, guided by representatives of the Alvar Aalto Foundation
• 19.00 Dinner

• Marco Falsetti (Italy) – Louis Kahn and His European Grand Tour, 1928–1950
• Gregory Melitonov Kahn (USA) 
• Marju Kõivupuu (Estonia) - Happy places in the chain of cultural ruptures
• Alessandro Vassella  (Switzerland) - Louis I. Kahn and the Tropic of Cancer
  
• Panel Discussion moderated by Marco Falsetti - Louis Kahn and the Meaning of Place. The Meaning of Home. Alessandro Vassella  (Switzerland), Per Olaf Fjeld (Norway), Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen (Finland).  
• Tommi Lindh (Finland) - Past, current and future activities of the Alvar Aalto Foundation
• Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen (Finland) – The Ethics of Space and the Human Dimension of Home: Alvar Aalto
• Kathrine Næss (AHO Oslo) – Productive Housing: Rethinking Productivity in a Nordic-Baltic Context

• GOSpa Hotel, Tori 2, Kuressaare, homepage
• Grand Rose Spa Hotel, Tallinna 15, Kuressaare, homepage
• Arensburg Boutique Hotel &Spa, Lossi 15, Kuressaare, homepage