[Benjamin Hayes - OUR LADY OF PEACE MONASTERY - SÄYNÄTSALO - COVER IMG] Physical Model - 1:250 Scale: Showing formal relationship of the existing Säynätsalo Town Hall (foreground) to the monastic extension and brewery

OUR LADY OF PEACE MONASTERY - SÄYNÄTSALO

University/SchoolHarvard Graduate School of Design
Lead ArchitectBenjamin Hayes

Our Lady of Peace Monastery is positioned adjacent to Alvar Aalto’s canonical Säynätsalo Town Hall (1952) on a small island in the Finnish Lakelands. The monastic extension repurposes the obsolete Town Hall into a self-sustaining social, economic and spiritual hub for the local community and monks, while also attracting visitors to the island in search of spiritual retreat and architectural pilgrimage. The Monastery will also house a micro-brewery producing traditional Finnish juniper beer. The marriage of the two buildings will ensure the survival of Aalto’s masterwork for future generations.