Aaro Lahtinen: February 2020

Introducing Myself

The 'Backpack' or '45-degree' house was my Design and Technology major work for the HSC. It was a theoritical solution to the unaffordable housing in the Sydney and Northern Beaches area, making use of steep and normally unusable plots of land in areas such as Avalon and Whale Beach.

This is the Central Library 'Oodi' in Helsinki, Finland. It is a representation of Finnish architecture at its finest, serving as a public space for locals and a magnificent spectacle for passing tourists.
I spent all of 2019 in Finland and grew to admire the originality of the design and how it was a multi-functional space that enticed not only students but everyone from the surrounding area.

This is a photo I took during my service in the Finnish Defence Forces. I found that the art of sniping and marksmanship was something quite beautiful.
It was -2 °C and sleet was falling diagonally from the sky making it difficult to see the targets that were placed 400-1100m away from our recon point. The targets were metal plates roughly the size of a human torso, which fell if impacted by a bullet. On the day we were given 5 bullets and were expected to hit four different targets.

The process prior to the press of the trigger is tedious and involves calculations, adjustments and a lot of patience. But if done correctly, the feeling following the press of the trigger is one of great elation and relief. Sniping involves critical thinking in often uncontrollable conditions and is something that I learnt to respect and admire over my time in the army. The whole ordeal was a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget.

Clients

Khyzyl Saleem