Piia Elo, Mayor of Turku, Finland goes over the city’s plans to become neutral by 2029 and its competitors for practical ideas to reinforce the appeal of the Aura River waterside.
How does Turku’s varied female management effect on its approach to policy, culture and innovation?Turku is a really
female‑led city, with myself as Mayor, Marjo Kaartinen as Rector of the University of Turku, and Mari Leppänen as Bishop of Turku– the very first woman to hold this position. The cumulative female leadership in Turku is forming every aspect of the city– from politics, education and faith. This likewise connects to the city’s economy, particularly its thriving pharmaceutical sector. Turku is accountable for over 75 %of Finnish pharmaceutical exports, with significant institutions such as Bayer, Orion and Revvity. Pharmaceutical organisations and organizations in Turku specialise in ladies’s health research study and innovation– a substantially underfunded location, getting just 1%of international research study and development financing(excluding cancers), regardless of women making up half the world’s population and facing many health difficulties that do not have sufficient services. To resolve this gap, Turku developed the Women’s Health Hub in 2025– an environment of pharmaceutical and diagnostics
companies, researchers and public‑sector stakeholders, supported by Company Turku. Its mission is to accelerate advances and developments in ladies’s health while using a growing females’s health market forecasted to produce up to EUR1 trillion yearly by 2040. All of the above shows how Turku’s inclusive and strong governance drives its local output, with worldwide implications. Can you tell us a bit about the Turku Music Centre Fuuga, and its role as a cultural milestone for Finland?Turku is a leading European center for musical excellence
and home to the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, Finland’s oldest orchestra, and the Turku Music Centre Fuuga– opening in October 2026– will mark a major cultural turning point as its brand-new home. This EUR90 million, 1,300 seat venue will supply a world-class concert hall in terms of both acoustics and architecture. As soon as released, the Fuuga’s ground-breaking acoustics will ensure music lovers from throughout Europe are drawn to Turku. But Fuuga will offer much more than performances: its design and programming are open, accessible and welcoming, with public booking hours to guarantee the whole city can delight in the area, which will be lined with curated artworks. The structure will likewise feature
a street‑level restaurant and Turku’s first rooftop white wine bar, using breathtaking views of the river and city skyline, while its versatile areas will accommodate shows, business events and personal functions, developing Fuuga as a lively new cultural hub. Designed by PES-Architects with WSP Finland, Hartela and acoustic designers Akukon & Kahle Acoustics, the EUR90 million, 1,300 seat Turku Music Centre Fuuga is on track to open in October 2026, and will be a new link in a chain of lively cultural websites on the banks of the Aura River. What other opportunities are there for
architects in Finland in basic and Turku in specific, and exist chances for UK practices to get involved?Of course, there are opportunities for both domestic and worldwide practices to get included with Turku, as the city motivates an interactive and participatory preparation process.
A fine example of this is the WAM Turku City Art Museum, also due to open later on in 2026. It is presently being sensitively refurbished and broadened by Chief Designer Mikko Uotila, based in the town of Urjala, to respect the initial 1960s brutalist design by Irma and Matti Aaltonen. We likewise have an approaching job development competition opening in spring 2026, which will be open to both domestic and global practices for the Hämähäkkitontti site. It is located in the centre of Turku beside the Turku Music Centre Fuuga, with the potential to work as an extension of the significant cultural buildings along the Aura River
waterside. Any practices with possible concepts to enhance the appeal of the Aura River waterfront are encouraged to watch for the competitors launch. Turku is intending to end up being carbon neutral by 2029. Will you achieve this? If so, how? And what are the biggest obstacles in attaining this goal?Turku is well on track to attain carbon neutrality by 2029, which accompanies the city’s 800th anniversary, and this goal is supported by a close partnership with the local energy business Turku Energia to broaden renewable energy sources and use waste heat.
Between 2023 and 2026, the city is investing EUR1.2 billion to speed up development in tidy energy, sustainable transport and green infrastructure, placing Turku to end up being the only major carbon‑neutral city in Finland by 2029, with ambitions to advance more and accomplish carbon negativeness in the 2030s. Such strong action is important to guarantee that the city’s future gain from the decisions made today, particularly given Turku’s unique geography as home to over 350,000 locals(in the Greater Turku location )along with 40,000 islands forming the Saaristo, the world’s biggest island chain. This immediate access to extraordinary natural environments shapes Turku’s unique mix of heritage and culture, influencing whatever from local food customs to wellbeing practices such as outside saunas and wild swimming. Our target for carbon neutrality, as well as ambition for carbon negativeness, talks to the value of protecting the environment that directly impacts our distinct identity and the health and wellbeing of our future generations.