The exquisite aesthetic highlights of life are at best truly powerful and life-enriching, but they function strongly from the basis of and in relation to those more mundane experiences that reflect and mould one’s sensitivities on a daily basis.
Research
I am the Senior University Lecturer in History and Theory of Contemporary Art at the Transdisciplinary Art Studies unit (TAITE, prev. TAS/YoYo) at the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture (AaltoARTS) and a Docent in Aesthetics at the University of Helsinki from which I graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in December 2015. I’m a philosopher and art researcher by training and a curious collaborator by personality.
My professional interests include urban/environmental/everyday aesthetics, philosophy of technology, and contemporary forms of environmental and urban art. My research focuses on the intersection of urban environmental aesthetics, philosophy of the city, and philosophy of technology. I have a special interest in finding out how philosophical and applied aesthetics can support human wellbeing, design practices, and environmental sustainability and thus contribute to a better understanding of the complex challenges related to the contemporary forms of human life.
Before launching my academic career, I worked for a while as a curator of contemporary art at the Amos Anderson Art Museum (currently known as Amos Rex). I have also experience working on projects outside the Academia, in consultancy roles in prestigious urban/property development projects in downtown Helsinki since 2016.
My publications include 30+ peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters in edited volumes published by top-tier international academic publishers. I am the Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Philosophy of the City Journal (Groningen University Press) and the Assistant Editor of Contemporary Aesthetics. I have also edited special issues for Environmental Values, East Asian Journal of Philosophy, ESPES, Contemporary Aesthetics, and Open Philosophy.
I advise currently seven doctoral students (four at Aalto University and three at the University of Helsinki). Two of my previous advisees defended their doctoral dissertations successfully in 2024. Since 2020, I have supervised over 20 Master's theses in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Creative Sustainability, Scenography, and Visual Communications Design at Aalto University, in Urban Studies and Planning progamme at the University of Helsinki, and in Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts. I teach currently 6 courses annually, with themes ranging from Intro to Aesthetics to Environmental and Urban Aesthetics for all study levels (Bachelor/Masters/Doctoral). I teach small seminars, mass lectures, and everything in between. As part of my academic training, I have studied University Pedagogy (35 ECTS) and Research Leadership and Management (25 ECTS) extensively.
External positions
2025– Member, Pre-examination Board of Doctoral Education, The Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki, Finland
2023– Co-founder and convener, Design Ethics SIG, Design Research Society
2019– Affiliate Member, 4TU. Centre for Ethics and Technology (NL)
2022– Co-founder and co-chair, Maintenance and Philosophy of Technology SIG, Society for Philosophy and Technology (with Dr. Mark Thomas Young, Univ. of Bergen)
Previous positions of trust
2019–24 Codirector, Philosophy of the City Research Group
2019–21 President, Finnish Society for Aesthetics
2019–21 Delegate, International Association of Aesthetics (IAA)
Researcher profiles
Research portal profile at the University of Helsinki (updated since 2020 only regarding supervision of doctoral students)