Mäntyniemi

The renovation of Mäntyniemi, the official residence of the President of the Republic of Finland, is now complete. Designed by architects Raili and Reima Pietilä as a Gesamtkunstwerk — a total work of art — the residence has always demanded that everything within it answer to a unified vision.

For Mäntyniemi, Haapaniemi created two works painted directly onto the walls. Lumpeet, in the lounge, accompanies the Biedermeier sofa group and echoes the rhythmic repetition of Rut Bryk’s iconic Jäävirta (1991). Mänty, in the kitchen, draws on the winding tree trunk and steep angles of Mäntyniemi’s architecture, along with the surrounding nature and its cliffs. Together, the works weave Haapaniemi’s fairytale imagery into Mäntyniemi’s historical layers.