Kaisa Karvinen is an architect, curator and researcher based in Helsinki. Through writings and exhibitions she explores the principles shaping the construction of diverse futures and histories in architecture and design. She holds a master’s in architecture from Aalto University, a master of research in Art and Design from Sint Lucas Antwerp and is pursuing a PhD at the University of Oulu.
Karvinen is currently working as a curator at the Architecture and Design Museum. With Karita Rytivaara she co-edited the book (2021-2022) and curated an exhibition titled Stripped Frame (2021), which examines the demolition of buildings from the 1960s and 1970s. As a researcher and curator for the urban research project (Re)configuring Territories (2019-2022), developed in collaboration with Tommi Vasko, the Narva Art Residency, and the Finnish Cultural Institute of Estonia, she investigated the social, cultural, and material dynamics of post-industrial landscapes around the Baltic Sea. Along with Ott Kagovere and Tommi Vasko, she co-edited Borrowing Positions: Role-Playing Design and Architecture (2019), a publication investigating live-action role-plays (LARPS) organised by Trojan Horse collective (2015-). Karvinen was a member of Henriikka Himma’s working group for the performance production I Was Living in the Strange Place (2021–2024), which was staged at the Baltic Circle Theatre Festival, the ANTI Festival, and the Hanko Teaterträff Festival. In addition to her research and curatorial work, Karvinen has designed exhibitions for museums.