grandkokonaisuus

Grandkokonaisuus is a Finnish term used in academic and cultural discourse to denote the idea of a grand, unified totality that encompasses all elements of a system. The word combines the loanword grand with kokonaisuus, meaning totality or entirety. The concept is employed to express a preference for coherence and integrated design across levels such as aesthetics, function, context, and social impact. It is most commonly encountered in Finnish-language discussions of architecture, art, and design theory.

In practice, grandkokonaisuus implies that parts should not be treated in isolation but as components of a single, overarching whole. In architecture and urban planning, proponents use the term to argue for a shared concept guiding program, form, materials, and public space. In product design and organizational theory, it is used to describe strategies that align form, use, processes, and culture toward common goals, reducing fragmentation.

Relation to other ideas includes holism, Gesamtkunstwerk (a total work of art) and systems thinking. The term remains relatively niche within Finnish discourse and is less common in English-language scholarship, where parallel notions are discussed under holistic design, integrative design, or systems theory. As a concept, it invites evaluation of whether a project truly expresses a coherent, grand totality or instead presents a set of disparate parts.