Prince Eugen Medal

AFKS architects have been awarded a prestigious Nordic prize, the Prince Eugen Medal

Architects Jari Frondelius, Jaakko Keppo and Juha Salmenperä received the medals awarded by King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on November 14, 2024.
The Prince Eugen Medal is an award established by King Gustav V of Sweden in 1945 in honor of Prince Eugen’s 80th birthday. The medal is awarded annually to Nordic artists for significant artistic work.

Before the medals received by Jari Frondelius, Jaakko Keppo and Juha Salmenperä, the founding partners of Arkkitehdit Frondelius + Keppo + Salmenperä (AFKS), the prize has been awarded to six Finnish architects during its 80-year history: Alvar Aalto 1954, Viljo Revell 1963, Reima Pietilä 1981, Juha Leiviskä 1994, Kristian Gullichsen 2004 and Rainer Mahlamäki 2017.

Reasons for Granting the Award

“The Finnish architectural office AFKS was founded in 1998 and is led by architects Jari Frondelius, Jaakko Keppo and Juha Salmenperä.
The office mainly works with public utility buildings and has received particular attention for its school and preschool buildings. With simple but at the same time creative solutions, they have created an architectural experience and a warm and stimulating atmosphere where the children’s comfort is at the center.
The architects focus on issues of sustainability and economy and highlight knowledge of durable solutions of older times as an alternative to today’s excessively technology-driven methods. With its holistic approach, the architecture office AFKS is a good example of what is thus possible to achieve.”

Original text in Swedish:
“Det finska arkitektkontoret AFKS grundades 1998 och leds av arkitekterna Jari Frondelius, Jaakko Keppo och Juha Salmenperä.
Kontoret arbetar huvudsakligen med publika nyttobyggnader och har särskilt uppmärksammats för sina skol- och förskolebyggnader. Med enkla men samtidigt kreativa lösningar har man skapat en arkitektonisk upplevelse och en varm och stimulerande atmosfär där barnens komfort står i centrum.
Arkitekterna fokuserar på frågor om hållbarhet och ekonomi samt lyfter fram kunskap om äldre tiders slitstarka lösningar som alternativ till dagens alltför teknologidrivna metoder. Med sitt holistiska synsätt är arkitektkontoret AFKS ett gott exempel på vad som därmed är möjligt att uppnå.”