Raili and Reima Pietilä

The obverse shows an artistic, abstract composition of the iconic “Dipoli” building on the Otaniemi campus of Aalto University in Espoo. Designed by the architect couple Pietilä, the building is regarded as a prime example of Finnish post-war modernism and is complemented on the right by a stylised depiction of a tree. At the top edge, the occasion of issue “RAILI REIMA PIETILÄ” can be seen. To its left are the country code “FI” for Finland, the year “2026”, and the mint mark of the Dutch mint. The letter “R” for the coin designer Pekka Rytkönen and the 12 stars of the European flag complete the design.

Raili and Reima Pietilä are among the most distinctive voices in postwar Finnish architecture. Reima Pietilä, born in Turku in 1923, and his wife and collaborator Raili, born in 1926, together developed a design language that deliberately broke away from the rationalist dogmas of their time. Their thinking drew on the Finnish landscape — on forests, rock formations, and coastlines — translating these organic patterns into floor plans, façades, and spatial concepts. The result was buildings that resisted easy categorization within the standard schools of modernism: too sculptural for the functionalists, too rational for the expressionists.

Their best-known early work, the Dipoli student center in Espoo, completed in 1966, brought the couple international recognition. The massive granite-and-concrete façade seemed to grow out of the ground itself, offering a counterpoint to the smooth internationalism of the period. Later projects such as the Metso city library in Tampere (1986) and embassy buildings in New Delhi and Berlin cemented their reputation as a duo who understood architecture as a topographic gesture. Reima Pietilä died in 1993; Raili Pietilä carried on their shared work and dedicated decades to preserving the studio's legacy. To mark Reima Pietilä's 100th birthday, Finland honors the work of both architects with a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2026.