What is allowed and appropriate? Continuing the long-lasting debate over appropriateness and freedom of speech, this summer the focus has been on SlutWalk marches, England’s week of riots and at one point on a Finnish horse story that circulated on the Internet.
Text Eero Vassinen
Illustration Jaakko Pallasvuo
Lofoten, the summer of ‘89 or ‘90. Oh well, flashes are more important than facts. We stopped to swim in the freezing cold sea where the high tide almost left us stuck on a sandbank. Our Norwegian ice cream melted all over the place. The strongest memories, however, were created by music.
Text Simo Vassinen and Antti Vassinen
Photos Vassinen family’s photo album
In the city, people make a fuss about propellants, rain forests, pesticides and carbon emissions, depending on what the hot topic of the decade is. The people by the lake may or may not listen. The debate topics in the studios change, but the calm and firm hands keep putting the dried milk cartons in the fireplace as always.
Text Antti Vassinen and Simo Vassinen
Photos Kaarle Hurtig
Public peeing is part of a bigger stream that adds up to over 13 million euros annually. Every euro spent on maintenance could be transformed into other activities. How could we turn Helsinki from a pissoar into a cozy hobby space?
Text Antti Vassinen and Simo Vassinen
Photos Kaarle Hurtig
Urban coworking – offering temporary office space for those who need them – can be used not only for business purposes, but also to educate and combat marginalization.
Text Simo Vassinen
Photos Vesa Mäkinen
The post-Madonna era of Jätkäsaari could well be an urban utopia that has been dreamt of since way back when. As the Low2No project takes flight, old ladies, families with children and young night crawlers grow their food together and relax at the neighborhood sauna.
Text Simo Vassinen
Images Sitra/Low2No/ARUP
The visual look of Helsinki’s World Design Capital year in 2012 will be designed by design consultancy Kokoro & Moi. The message is actionable: the theme of ”Open Helsinki” encourages you to play catch both figuratively and in practice.
Text Simo Vassinen
Photos Juuso Noronkoski
The Finnish design company Freedom of Creation is celebrating its 10th year in business. Freedom of Creation has reinvented the 3D printing technology business, stepping away from the idea that the technology is only used to support the design stage. FOC’s final product is the valuable design models it creates.
Freedom of Creation’s 10-year anniversary exhibition at the Cable Factory, Helsinki, 1-3 September 2010.
According to Airan Berg, design, theater and the educational world or any other combination of arts, science and life will not differ much from each other. Berg will be one of the PechaKucha speakers during the Helsinki Design Week.
PechaKuchaNight, 2 September 2010, Cable Factory.
During the summer, architect Travis Price and a group of thirty design and architecture students from Finland and the United States have built a Kalevalakehto installation within the confines of Seurasaari.
Kalevalakehto will be opened at Seurasaari on Helsinki Design Week’s opening night on 26 August 2010. PechaKuchaNight on 2 September 2010 at the Cable Factory.
The Dutch Brainport Design display for the Happy Living exhibition brings together a cross-section of creations from Eindhoven to the Cable Factory.
Brainport Design for Happy Living at The Cable Factory, 1−4 September 2010.
This year the winner of the Habitare Design Competition will be selected by Alfredo Häberli. This year the theme of the Habitare Design Competition is recycled seating.
Habitare Fair, 1–5 September 2010, Helsinki Fair Center.
Cooperation of Martela and Karim Rashid include product design, events and perhaps an exhibition, too.
Karim Rashid visits Martela House on 31 August 2010.
Helsinki’s strategy for its year as World Design Capital could include a battle against zero-content terminology, says Helsinki-based designer-architect Bryan Boyer.
Text Simo Vassinen
Photos Kaarle Hurtig
The theme for the Design Capital project makes you think about the use of public space, elitism in the creative field and doing things together like in the good old days.
Text Simo Vassinen
Photos Sasa Tkalcan
Design is everything that combines usability, form and idea.
Text Simo Vassinen
Clear 
20X0 – A Journey into the Future
8. October 2011
Heureka – The Finnish Science Centre
Seven Connections – Finnish Architecture Abroad
11. January 2012
Museum of Finnish Architecture
Yellow City – Illustrated Stories from Helsinki
16. January 2012
All around the city
20. January 2012
Kiasma – Museum of Contemporary Art
DesignWorld – Designing the New World
27. January 2012
Design Museum
Bi-monthly magazine about Helsinki. In Finnish and in English.
