Katri (Kaija) Anna-Maija Helena Siren (née Tuominen; October 23, 1920 in

Kotka Kotka (; ; la, Aquilopolis) is a city in the southern part of the Kymenlaakso province on the Gulf of Finland. Kotka is a major port and industrial city and also a diverse school and cultural city, which was formerly part of the old Kymi parish ...

– January 15, 2001) was a Finnish

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

. She graduated as an architect from the

Helsinki University of Technology Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; fi, Teknillinen korkeakoulu; sv, Tekniska högskolan) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the metropolitan area of Greater Helsinki. The university was founded in ...

in 1948. Siren designed most of her works together with her spouse to another Finnish architect,

Heikki Siren Heikki Siren (5 October 1918 in Helsinki – 25 February 2013 in Helsinki) was a Finnish architect. He graduated from the Helsinki University of Technology in 1946 as a student of his father J. S. Sirén. Heikki Siren designed most of his works ...

. She and her husband Heikki Siren set up their own architectural office in 1949. The Sirens worked together as architects their entire life. The

Otaniemi Chapel Otaniemi Chapel ( fi, Otaniemen kappeli, sv, Otnäs kapell) is a Lutheran chapel located in the Otaniemi campus of Aalto University in Espoo, Finland. History The chapel was designed by the architect couple Heikki and Kaija Siren for a 1954 ar ...

is noted for its delicate balance between features of Finnish rural architecture and a modernism, influenced by

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, s ...

's redbrick period of the 1950s. Their later work is noted for its monumentality. She is buried in the

Hietaniemi Cemetery The Hietaniemi cemetery ( fi, Hietaniemen hautausmaa, sv, Sandudds begravningsplats) is located mainly in the Lapinlahti quarter and partly in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is the location for Finnish state fu ...

in Helsinki.

Major works

* 1954

Finnish National Theatre The Finnish National Theatre ( fi, Suomen Kansallisteatteri), established in 1872, is a theatre located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. The Finnish National Theatre is the oldest Finnish ...

Small Stage,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland * 1956

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärv ...

, Finland * 1961 Orivesi Church,

Orivesi Orivesi () is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality official language is monoling ...

, Finland * 1965 Kallio Municipal Offices, Helsinki, Finland * 1968

Ympyrätalo Ympyrätalo ( sv, Cirkelhuset; lit. "Circle House") is a circle-shaped office building located in the Hakaniemi district of Helsinki, Finland. The building is a local landmark. History Before Ympyrätalo was built, the block outlined by Siltasaare ...

, Helsinki, Finland * 1970 Lauttasaari School, Helsinki, Finland * 1973

Brucknerhaus The Brucknerhaus () is a festival and congress centre in Linz, Austria named after the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. The building was designed by Finnish architects Heikki and Kaija Siren. Its construction took place from 1969 to 1973. It ope ...

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

, Austria * 1982 Graniittitalo, Helsinki, Finland * 1983 The Conference Palace in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Gallery of selected major works

File:Pieni nayttamo.jpg, National Theatre extension, Helsinki (1954) File:Otaniemen kappeli ulkoa.jpg, Otaniemi Chapel exterior, Espoo (1956) Image:Otaniemen kappeli sisa.jpg, Otaniemi Chapel interior, Espoo (1954–57) File:Orivesi Kirche.jpg, Orivesi Church, Orivesi (1961) File:Kallion virastotalo.jpg, Kallio Municipal Offices, Helsinki (1965) Image:Ympyrätalo.jpg, Ympyrätalo, Helsinki (1968) File:LauttasaarenYK1.jpg, Lauttasaari School, Helsinki (1970) File:Graniittitalo, Helsinki2.JPG, Graniittitalo, Helsinki (1982) File:Baghdad Convention Center.jpg, Conference Palace, Baghdad (1983)

References

* Bruun, Erik & Popovits, Sara (eds.): ''Kaija + Heikki Siren: Architects – Architekten – Architectes''. Otava: Helsinki, 1977.

Notes

External links

*
Everything and Nothing: Architects Kaija + Heikki Siren.
Espoo City Museum. {{DEFAULTSORT:Siren, Kaija 1920 births 2001 deaths People from Kotka 20th-century Finnish architects Finnish women architects Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery