Hella Hernberg

Hella Hernberg is an architect and scholar whose work advances the care and revitalization of existing spaces and properties as an alternative for demolition and new construction. She focuses on the intermediation of complex multi-stakeholder processes to advance urban sustainability transformations. Her research approach intersects with sustainability transitions, architecture, planning, urban studies, and participatory design. Her current research project, Capabilities of Care, is funded by the Kone Foundation. Hella holds a Doctor of Arts degree in Design (Aalto University, 2022) and an Architect (MSc) degree (Helsinki University of Technology, 2008). Her doctoral thesis, titled Architects as ‘Mediators’ – Socio-political roles in mediating the ‘temporary use’ of vacant spaces, won the Aalto ARTS Dissertation Award. Hella’s research also builds on her professional expertise as an architect working with the participatory revitalization of vacant spaces since 2008.

In 2025, Hernberg led the international Aalto ARTS Summer School on Spatial Practices beyond New Construction, which won the Aalto ARTS Act of the Year award. Currently, she also works as a senior researcher at the BIOS research unit. Previously, she ran her own company, Urban Dream Management, and in 2012-13, she worked as a strategic designer at the Ministry of the Environment.