astronomy

Kari Jormakka

Kari Jormakka is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Kari Jormakka rather than just read about it. In short: Kari Juhani Jormakka (21 January 1959, in Helsinki – 13 January 2013, in Vienna) was a Finnish architect, historian, critic and pedagogue. Background Though born in Helsinki, Kari Jormakka's family soon afterwards moved to the city of Lappeenranta, where he spent his childhood.

Key takeaways

Kari Jormakka belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Kari Jormakka to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Kari Jormakka from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Kari Juhani Jormakka (21 January 1959, in Helsinki – 13 January 2013, in Vienna) was a Finnish architect, historian, critic and pedagogue.

Background Though born in Helsinki, Kari Jormakka's family soon afterwards moved to the city of Lappeenranta, where he spent his childhood. After finishing school in Lappeenranta, he initially studied philosophy at the University of Helsinki before switching to studying architecture at Helsinki University of Technology, graduating in 1985. He completed a PhD in architecture theory, with a thesis titled "Constructing Architecture", at Tampere University of Technology in 1992. Kari Jormakka's main theoretical position is characterized by studies in the ontology of architecture, defining the constructed nature of buildings as works of interpretation. As such a work may then be significantly determined by the period when it was created, a position that Jormakka critiqued through theories of Zeitgeist primarily associated with Friedrich Hegel and, in regard to modernist works, Arthur C. Danto. In "Eyes that do not see" (2011), the last published work during his lifetime, Jormakka applied these ideas to the theory of Functionalism best associated with the thinking of architect Le Corbusier and his fellow functionalists. At the time of his death Jormakka was Professor of Architecture Theory at Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria. Previously he taught at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Ohio State University, and was a visiting professor at Harvard University. In 2020 a Festschrift and Webfestschrift were published in honour of Kari Jormakka by the University of Tampere in Finland, titled "What, if anything, is a rabbit?", containing essays by over 20 of his former colleagues from the US, Finland, Germany and Austria.

Select list of publications Eyes that do not see – Perspectives on functionalist architectural theory, Weimar: Verl. der Bauhaus-Universität 2011 Wood with a Difference – Österreichische Studierende präsentieren finnische Architektur, Vienna: Luftschacht 2011 (eds. with Dörte Kuhlmann) Architecture in the Age of Empire / Die Architektur der neuen Weltordnung, Weimar: Verl. der Bauhaus-Universität 2011 (eds. with K. Faschingeder, N. Korrek, O. Pfeifer, G. Zimmermann) Building Designing Thinking, Helsinki: Alvar Aalto Foundation 2008 (eds. with Esa Laaksonen) Strategies of Tranparency / Strategien der Transparenz, UmBau 24, Salzburg: Pustet 2008 (eds. with Christian Kühn) Focus on Blur / Diffus im Fokus, UmBau 23, Salzburg: Pustet 2007 (eds. with Christian Kühn) Design Methods, Basel: Birkhäuser 2007 The Art of the City – from Camillo Sitte to Today, Datutop 27, Tampere 2006 Kunst des Städtebaus – Neue Perspektiven auf Camillo Sitte, Vienna: Böhlau 2005 (eds. with Klaus Semsroth and Bernhard Langer) Genius locomotionis, Vienna: Edition Selene 2005 Competition! / Wettbewerb!, UmBau 22, Vienna: Edition Selene 2005 (eds. with Christian Kühn) Learning from Calvin Klein / Lernen von Calvin Klein, UmBau 21, Vienna: Edition Selene 2004 (eds. with Christian Kühn) Lost in Space, Wien: Edition Selene 2003 (with Dörte Kuhlmann) Geschichte der Architekturtheorie, Vienna: Edition Selene 2003 Building Power – Architektur, Macht, Gender, Vienna: Edition Selene 2003 (eds. with Dörte Kuhlmann and Sonja Hnilica) Morality and Architecture / Moral und Architektur, UmBau 20, Vienna: Edition Selene 2003 (eds. with Christian Kühn) Flying Dutchmen – Motion in Architecture, Basel: Birkhäuser 2002 Building Gender – Architektur und Geschlecht, Vienna: Edition Selene 2002 (eds. with Dörte Kuhlmann) Diagrams, Types, Algorithms / Diagramme, Typen, Algorythmen, UmBau 19, Vienna: Edition Selene 2002 (eds. with Christian Kühn) The Call of the New / Im Sog des Neuen, UmBau 18, Vienna: Edition Selene 2001 (eds. with Christian Kühn) The use and abuse of paper – Essays on Alvar Aalto, Datutop 20, Tampere 1999 (with Jaqueline Gergus and Douglas Graf) Form & Detail – Henry van de Veldes Bauhaus, Weimar: Verl. der Bauhaus-Universität 1998 (ed.) Heimlich Manoeuvres – Ritual in Architectural Form, Weimar: Verl. der Bauhaus-Universität 1995 Constructing Architecture – Notes on Theory and Criticism in Architecture, Datutop 15, Tampere 1991

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Kari Jormakka

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Kari Jormakka claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Kari Jormakka before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Kari Jormakka ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Kari Jormakka

In research: Kari Jormakka appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Kari Jormakka in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Kari Jormakka is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1959 births, 2013 deaths, Academic staff of TU Wien, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Kari Jormakka outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Kari Jormakka in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Kari Jormakka means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Kari Jormakka out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kari Jormakka in simple terms?

Kari Juhani Jormakka (21 January 1959, in Helsinki – 13 January 2013, in Vienna) was a Finnish architect, historian, critic and pedagogue. Background Though born in Helsinki, Kari Jormakka's family soon afterwards moved to the city of Lappeenranta, where he spent his childhood.

Why does Kari Jormakka matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Kari Jormakka?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Kari Jormakka.