The 2026 Habitare Neighbours area to be designed by Arkkitehti Takkunen

The idea behind the Neighbors area, which was first seen at Habitare 2024, is to create a picture of a possible courtyard that changes and lives with its residents. Following last year's spectacular avant-garde home designed by Laura Seppänen, the area is now turning its attention to a nature-oriented living. The area is being designed by the company Arkkitehti Takkunen, whose plan focuses on a sense of security, light, and the experience.

The architectural firm led by Tapani Takkunen is known for its timeless Nordic wooden architecture, which emphasizes consideration for nature, clear design language, and practical spatial solutions. The firm's visualist and interior architect, Eeva Takkunen, is known for creating the same gentle naturalness in spaces and visual storytelling.

The design of the Neighbours area is based on the idea of a human-scale spatial study. Eeva Takkunen describes: "We are not so much presenting a home as everything that a person can sense in a space together with others. The area only comes alive when a person experiences it holistically with their senses, surrounded by other people.

We are also inspired by discussions about architecture with people outside the field. It broadens our horizons and truly brings out the human experience. We want to expand the discussion about architecture—a beautiful environment belongs to everyone. In addition to these themes, we are interested in the sustainability of design, the life cycle of products and buildings, domestic materials, and locality."

Tapani Takkunen continues: “For us, the human experience is central. In design and customer collaboration, we emphasize an empathetic approach, where buildings are always designed for their users. In architecture, we emphasize place-based design: a new building should fit naturally into its environment and complement what already exists with respect. Although construction is a technically and administratively demanding process, we keep a human perspective at the heart of our design.”

"One of the plot twists of this year's Habitare Neighbors is to remind us that the best conversations arise when we meet and listen to others. Arkkitehti Takkuset operates out of Oulu – as a native of Turku myself, I feel it is important that design and the definition of good Finnish living are not determined solely by the capital region, but that we invite the whole of Finland to participate," says Habitare's creative advisor Päivi Helander.

@arkkitehti_takkunen @eevatak arkkitehtitakkunen.com

Further information:

Päivi Helander, Creative Lead, Habitare, puh. +358 40 588 4211, studio@paivihelander.fi

Tapani Takkunen, +358 40 761 6991, tapani.takkunen@arkkitehtitakkunen.fi

Habitare, the leading furniture, design and interior event in the Nordics, will next be held at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre from 2 to 6 September 2026. | habitare.fi | @habitarefair | #habitare2026