Helsinki Seeks Nomination As World Design Capital 2012
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Issue 2 – 2009 March 30 English Contents Supplement 2 Laituri looks towards the future 2 Talsinki, a pragmatic utopia 3 Helsinki seeks nomination as World Design Capital 2012 5 Helsinki - a digital city 6 "Art does not need a showy facade" 7 Landscapes of my life 7 Public libraries 7 Wellcome to Caisa 8 St Petersburg Days in Helsinki Helsinki seeks nomination as 8 Watch out, Gypsies! World Design Capital 2012 Kimmo Brandt English Supplement Talsinki, Laituri looks towards the future Helsinki a pragmatic utopia Laituri is the Helsinki City Planning Department’s Pasila The possibility of building a tunnel information and exhibition space in the old bus sta- between Helsinki and Tallinn is currently tion building on Narinkka Square - in the very heart of Drafted route option being studied. If it will be built the exca- Helsinki near Lasipalatsi Square and Kamppi centre. vation process will produce 16 000 000 Currently the urban structure of Helsinki is changing cubic metres of blast stone as a side more rapidly than at anytime during the past hundred Gråskärsbodan product. (Island location years. City residents as well as those visiting the city option nr.1) In his Master thesis Martti Kalliala, are interested in the future of Helsinki. A response to young student of architecture, studies people’s need to know and make a difference, Laituri Current the option of establishing an artificial boat route is a new and open place where plans, changes and HKI-TLN island from this material along the tun- development projects can be examined. nel in the Gulf of Finland. The project Porkkala - Muuga Laituri welcomes anyone interested in urban design route option could be seen, according to Kalliala, – town planning, construction, traffic – as well as resi- both as a profit generating speculative dents interested in the future of Helsinki. It is a con- venture and an icon for the transformed FRONT PAGE venient visitor facility for tourists, experts and students relationship of the two cities into a twin interested in architecture and city planning. city. Besides getting acquainted with the latest planning Kalliala names the island Talsinki – projects and temporary exhibitions, visitors can International with hommage to the Estonian writer Boat Route express their opinions concerning Helsinki’s future. At Tallinn service island Jaan Kaplinski who in 1992 first intro- Laituri’s sales desk you can obtain brochures or pur- duced the playful name of Talsinki or chase books. Information about the lectures and Hellinn for the possible twin city. events arranged at Laituri can be found online at: Kallialas visions are presented at Lai- http://laituri.hel.fi. turi as part of the forthcoming exhibi- Opening hours: Tue–Fri 10–18, Sat 12–16 tion Helsinki – a European metropolis: Muuga visions, research, projects. Tallinn Exhibitions: 6.3.-9.4. Building in the Attics in Helsinki Martti Kalliala: Talsinki Island 17.4.-16.5. Helsinki – a European metropolis: – A 21st Century Pragmatic Utopia visions, research, projects Master’s thesis in architecture, 22.5.-29.8. Alvar Aalto’s Buildings in Helsinki Helsinki University of Technology, 2008 Martti Kalliala English Supplement Helsinki seeks nomination as World Design Capital 2012 By Johanna Lemola FRONT PAGE “The process is important, not just winning the title,” Pekka Timonen explains why Helsinki is putting in a bid to be the World Design Capi- tal in year 2012. “We need this process, as fuel for both thought and action,” Timonen points out. Helsinki is facing a huge transition – socially, econom- ically, and because of the upcom- ing development of whole new city sections. “We can’t mess this up,” he says, “and the bid will help.” Kimmo Brandt English Supplement The World Design Capital is a designa- sented by the aging population, design Timonen is convinced that Helsinki gathered together major players in an tion given to a city every two years for is a key tool to help Helsinki overcome can match Souel’s accomplishment: unprecedented way, building up the merits in managing the dramatic the challenges and succeed. “Our bid to “Our city has demonstrated in the past design cluster of the region. changes that urban areas face today. It become the World Design Capital is a that we CAN do things. We also have The short list of candidates will be is awarded by the International Council starting point that sets the tone for the concrete projects to peg our bid on, published in the spring and the winner of Societies of Industrial Design, an development of the region,” Timonen including the Aalto University and the announced in November 2009. umbrella for the world’s design organi- says. “This is no window dressing, and new central library, which will be a “Whether we win or not, we will carry zations. Timonen, Director of Helsinki’s we are sure not talking about vases!” library of the future – not to speak out this process in any case,” Cultural Office, is the co-ordinator of about the huge urban development Timonen asserts. n Helsinki’s bidding process. Helsinki’s strengths to win the title boom ahead of us.” The first World Design Capital is the The process has already brought a Design – an all-embracing Korean capital Soeul in 2010. That city, great deal of good for Helsinki: it has tool for improvement with little history in traditional design, The meaning of design has expanded won the title with a bold vision. vastly from the making of objects. As FRONT PAGE defined for the World Design Capital concept, it is an approach to do things right and to effect improvement cultur- ally, socially and economically. Design is about making a better city. “Our bid Taking a house as an example, design does not only refer to the architecture to become the of the building but also to its surround- ing community. Design embraces how services are organized, for example, by World Design Capital using online tools. “One of the big design questions in the world is how to is a starting point that sets save the seas,” Timonen reflects, further expanding the meaning of design. the tone for the development When Helsinki looks for answers to new challenges, including those pre- of the region.” English Supplement Digital Glossary Helsinki - a digital city English – Finnish Digital - digitaalinen Revolution – vallankumous Mobile phone – kännykkä Nokia, the world’s biggest manufac- mats that can be viewed on a mobile Computer – tietokone The digital turer of mobile phones, has its head- phone. Email – sähköposti quarters in the Helsinki region. Maybe The City of Helsinki distributes infor- Web – netti its presence explains why the city’s res- mation via its website and digital bulle- revolution idents are among the most mobile- tin boards located at shopping centres Wireless network – langaton verkko savvy people on the planet. They use and on buses and trams. Helsinki resi- Text message – tekstiviesti marches on, their handsets in managing many dents can buy tram tickets by mobile Timetable – aikataulu aspects of their private and social lives, phone – the ticket is displayed as a text Interactive - vuorovaikutteinen FRONT PAGE improving as well as taking pictures and record- message on the phone screen. Trans- ing and sharing videos. portation timetables can also be Many Helsinki residents carry smart- checked by mobile phone. residents’ phones and use these miniature com- The City is developing new communi- puters to handle email, maintain social cation services and interactive tools that lives. and professional calendars and surf can be used via the web. Helsinki City the Web. There are 6.4 million mobile Library has more virtual visitors than phone subscriptions in Finland, a mil- physical ones. Visits to the City’s site at lion more than the number of the www.hel.fi exceed one million each country’s inhabitants. month. Finnish homes have moved into the City Council meetings can be viewed digital age. Television transmissions as both live and on-demand webcasts. were converted to digital format This has opened up completely new Mika Lappalainen nationally in 2007. The Finnish Broad- opportunities for residents who want to All trams in Helsinki will have a wireless casting Company (YLE) offers many monitor and participate in the City’s local area network (WLAN) by the end programmes via the Internet or in for- decision-making processes. n of this year. English Supplement "Art does not need a showy facade" Painter, drawer and graphicist Kuutti tions with composer Olli Kortekangas. Lavonen is one of the most popular I was given the opportunity of listening and awarded Finnish contemporary to his composition while I was painting artists. and pondering over the solution of my Reviews praise his ability to capture a own work’’ says Mr. Lavonen. delicate atmosphere in his work by Helsinki inner city with its shores is part means of light and scanty, well thought- of Mr. Lavonen’s childhood landscape, as out colours, the same way great masters well as winters in Paris with his artist par- of the past did. The general public are ents. Mr. Lavonen went to Finnish-French touched by the enigmatic, often melan- school in Helsinki and has carried on the cholic human faces on his large can- tradition with his own children. FRONT PAGE vases. Ateneum Art Museum is at Mr. Lavonen, born in 1960, graduated present displaying a Kalevala Exhibition from the school of Finnish Academy of that includes a work of Kuutti Lavonen Fine Arts and pursued postgraduate in which he has given a face to the studies in Italy, among others. Besides South and North winds. his artist’s work he has acted as Profes- To celebrate the 160 years of Kale- sor at the Academy in 1998–2003.