Two weeks ago Juha Kääpä donated a wonderful collection of his drawings, including a full set of original designs from his 1982/83 project for an embassy building for Sony Corporation on Hampstead Heath, London. The project was undertaken whilst studying in AA Diploma 5, under tutor Mike Gold.
Juha Kääpä studied at the AA from 1977 until 1983, taking his RIBA part 3 examination at the Polytechnic of Central London. He then undertook a postgraduate Licentiate in Technology at the Aalto University, Helsinki, and was a Visiting Academic at the London School of Economics. In his subsequent career, Juha has directed his own studio practice and worked across many fields of design and related areas: architecture, branding and CID, graphics, interiors and exhibitions, journalism, publishing and film. He has worked extensively with international and Finnish design and related organizations, including Design Forum Finland / Design Council, and the Finnish Foreign Trade Association. Alongside teaching in Finland and the UK, where he is currently the Head of Collaborations and Partnerships at Leeds Beckett University, Juha has designed exhibition displays for many Finnish museums and galleries and undertaken architectural commissions for private clients, also working as an advisor on corporate identity and product development for SME’s.