Us

The art of continuity

Sigge’s roots go back to 1956, when Sigvard “Sigge” Eklund followed in his father’s footsteps and founded his own architectural firm, together with his wife Eeva-Kaarina. The office specialised in designing port terminals, schools and residential areas, as well as urban planning, and became an established business in the Finnish architectural field, especially in Southwest Finland and Åland.

Pekka Mäki
Pekka Mäki, CEO, Chairman of the Board

 

In the following decades, the company grew steadily, gaining more reputation and big time clients and became a desired employer amongst talented professionals. First Antti Mäki joined Sigge in 1970, and in the early 80’s Sigvard’s son Kim Eklund followed. The duo became main owners of the company, Antti Mäki acting as the CEO. Together they were in charge of operations until the 21st century.

Pekka Mäki
Rauno Lehtinen, Area Director Helsinki

In the late 80’s Sigge also employed a young assistant: Pekka Mäki, Antti’s son, worked in Sigge during school holidays, helping with drafts and competition entries. He later founded his own architectural firm VIIVA Architecture. During his architectural studies, Mäki gained international fame by winning an international architectural competition together with Rauno Lehtinen and Toni Peltola: the Finnish Embassy in Berlin, designed by the trio, has been awarded as the best building in the world and the best building and office building in Europe. VIIVA Architecture merged with Sigge in the early 2000’s, and Mäki became a partner and CEO. In the following years Antti Mäki and Kim Eklund stepped aside, and since 2018 Pekka Mäki has been the main owner of Sigge.

We didn’t dream about success.
We worked
for it.

Success in competitions and a job well done have spoken for themselves. The current clientele consists of a wide range of actors, both public and private: cities, communities, institutions, industries, banks, businesses and citizens. Urban planning, space planning and interior design are also substantial areas of operation. Sigge’s Scandinavian style is admired around the world: the Embassy of Finland in Berlin and Burj Al Arab Terrace in Dubai are well-known examples of Sigge’s modern and distinguished, internationally renowned work. On top of them the company has designed numerous floating villa and hotel complexes, especially in the Gulf region.

What once was a small architectural company owned by a young couple Eklund is now an internationally renowned and award-winning architectural firm with approximately 80 employees and hundreds of prominent clients. Through decades and generations and through ever-changing trends and styles, Sigge has boldly retained its own principles and way of doing things: great designs always starts with great planning. Today Sigge is one of the most sought after partners in the field of architecture and interior design. It is a true pioneer of Scandinavian architecture, guided by meticulous design, flawless planning and the principles of sustainable development. Styles and trends may vary, but one thing never goes out of fashion: the beauty of permanence.

We are Sigge