OMEN space’s exhibition tells the story of Memora, a city built by demolition. The exhibition reflects the current condition of the commercial building on Kasarmitori against the different phases of its history, through site-specific installations. The exhibition explores how we should respond to a modern building slated for demolition, and what is lost, of a city’s remembering and its memory, when it is torn down. 

As an exhibition, Memora pauses to examine the square and the phases of its unwanted buildings at this turning point, looking at a city built by demolition, both site-specifically and more broadly. Do we still want to demolish and build anew, especially in the midst of an ecological crisis? The commercial building has survived to this day and stands as evidence of the lasting effects of everyday decisions, but also as an example of an interesting phase in Helsinki’s commercial construction. Its form is ordinary, but Memora steps inside it with curiosity, examining its shape, structure, materials, and the meanings and memories held within its layers. Does it still hold another life within it?