Ella Kaira (b. 1992)
ella.kaira (at) gmail.com
I am an architect and co-founder of the community-driven architectural practice Vokal. My work moves within the existing city, where I seek out local knowledge and inherited traditions to care for modern architectural heritage. My practice makes visible the processes that shape the built environment, opening them to public dialogue.
Education
Aalto University (FI)
Architect M.Sc.
2014-2020
ENSA Paris-Belleville (FR)
Architecture
2018-2019
Vapaa Taidekoulu / Free Art School (FI)
Painting
2012-2013
How to repair a radical building, Nicolas Moreau and Hiroko Kusunoki?
The Finnish Architectural Review 4/2026
Project Review: Echoes of the Past
The Finnish Architectural Review 4/2025
Promise of vitality
Archinfo
09/01/2024
Revisit: Vuoranta Training Centre
The Finnish Architectural Review 5/2023
The Local Community Heals
The Finnish Architectural Review
3/2023
Social Movements, Saviours of Built Heritage?
The Finnish Architectural Review
1/2023
Ella Kaira & Matti Jänkälä
Publications (books)
Muistojen Meri-Rastila
2025
Ed. Ella Kaira & Matti Jänkälä
Architecture of Stewardship
Arvinius & Orfeus Publishing
2025
Ed. Ella Kaira & Matti Jänkälä
Residencies
Cité internationale des arts
Paris (FR)
2027 (upcoming)
BETA Biennale
Timișoara (RO)
2025-2026
Institutum Romanum Finlandiae
Rome (IT)
2026
Archipelago Art Residency
Korpo (FI)
2026
Cité internationale des arts
Paris (FR)
2025-2026
The Finnish Cultural Institute in New York
New York City (USA)
2023
Caring by Design
Culture Station Seoul 284
Seoul (KR)
Lead Curator Dahyoung Chung (CAC)
Curators Heejung Kim, Sungkyu Jung
Matti Jänkälä & Ella Kaira
17.09–01.11.2026
Geography of Memories
Kulttuuritila Merirasti
Helsinki (FI)
Matti Jänkälä & Ella Kaira
2025
The Pavilion – Architecture of Stewardship
19th Architecture Biennale in Venice
Venice (IT)
Curators Ella Kaira & Matti Jänkälä
Commissioner Archinfo
Video artist Merle Karp
Sound designer Jussi Hertz
Exhibition Architect Antti Auvinen
Graphic designer Samuli Saarinen
2025
It’s Time to Talk about Monstrosities
Pori Biennale - Visitors
Helsinki (FI)
Matti Jänkälä, Ella Kaira & You Tell Me Collective
2022