Issue 2 – 2009 March 30 English Contents Supplement 2 Laituri looks towards the future 2 Talsinki, a pragmatic utopia

3 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 . 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. 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. vala, Ateneum Art Museum presents ‘’Art does not need a showy facade’’ the most extensive show of Kalevala says Mr. Lavonen. ‘’Experience comes art seen in decades. The display fea- first, and it is best obtained from origi- tures more than 200 works from nal art. Then one can experience the almost sixty artists, all inspired by the same feeling of integration with the sur- Finnish national epic. rounding reality as when being close to For the contemporary art portion another person or in the nature. The the Museum ordered works in pairs experience is very profound. It is not from ten different artists and compos- necessary to understand art, just ers. ‘’I had very rewarding conversa- experience it.’’ n Jukka Uotila English Supplement

Landscapes of My Life Welcome to Caisa - The Life and Works of Kaii Higashiyama Caisa is an international cultural centre in the core of Helsinki. Caisa organises concerts, exhibitions, courses and clubs and In early April, Virka Gallery will launch a retrospec- its own singing competition Ourvision. See www.caisa.fi. tive of the life and work of the Japanese painter Kaii Higashiyama (1908–1999). Titled Landscapes of My “Between Dot and Majority” 3.4.–23.4. Life – The Life and Works of Kaii Higashiyama, the Graphics and Ceramics from Lithuania. exhibition marks 90 years of formal diplomatic rela- tions between Finland and Japan. The exhibition at Vietnam: Past and Present 29.4.–28.5. Virka Gallery will comprise photographs, personal Four vietnamese artists. items, digital Epson reproductions and 26 original lithographs depicting Japanese and Nordic land- Lecture: Intercultural Communication 22.4. at 15.00–19.00 scapes. Kaii Higashiyama counts among one of Join Eila Kaarresalo-Kasari in an interesting and practical Japan’s most celebrated post-war artists. workshop, where intercultural communication is tackled Originally a student of oil painting, he later went with the help of international etiquette. Tickets 10 € on to adopt the traditional Nihonga style. Higashiya- Kouichi Saito Inquiries and registration: [email protected] or (09) 310 37508 ma’s work is characterised by his rich use of colour, joisesplanadi 11–13. Admission free. For the dura- FRONT PAGE with blues and sea-greens featuring prominently. tion of the exhibition, the Virka Kino cinema will be Women’s International Living Room 11.5 at 16–18 The colours are pure and his compositions austere screening a biography of Kaii Higashiyama by Tuo- Topic: Intercultural Dialogue in Working Life, the Organisa- yet lucid. mas Sallinen and Heikki Mäenpää, titled “Journey tional Field, and Elsewhere A chance for immigrant and Finn- The exhibition can be viewed from 8 April to 10 into the white night” (commissioned by Yle-teema, ish women to meet. Discussion and cultural programme. May 2009 at Virka Gallery, Helsinki City Hall, Poh- Finnish Broadcasting Company). Registration: [email protected] or (09) 310 37508

Mikonkatu 17 C/ Vuorikatu 14

Public libraries Ourvision Singing Contest 2009 Finale 25.4. at 20.00–23.00 The Helsinki City Library is the largest public library in Met-database, as well the stock of other public librar- , Mannerheimintie 13 E Finland – your local gateway to knowledge and life- ies in the metropolitan area, see www.helmet.fi. Join us in an unforgettable musical journey around the globe long learning. It offers fiction and non-ficion, newspa- The public libraries are open to all and free of when the ten finalists, two from each continent, fight for the pers and magazines, music and materials in electronic charge. To borrow something, a library card is victory! See www.ourvision.fi format. needed. Everyone who lives in Helsinki can have Tickets at the door from 1 h before showtime or Lippupalvelu, All 36 libraries in Helsinki have items in several one. For more information and to find your nearest 0600 10 800 (1,83 € / minute + local network charge) languages. The City Library’s stock is all in the Hel- library see www.lib.hel.fi. www.lippupalvelu.fi English English Supplement Supplement

Helsinki Info is a printed newspaper St Petersburg Days published by the City of Helsinki and April 14 to 17 distributed to all Helsinki households six in Helsinki times a year. Helsinki Info’s English Supplement This is the third time that St Petersburg Days resembles the main publication in format but is published online on the are held in Helsinki. The four-day event City Website, also six times a year. includes both business related events and cultural happenings. The governor of Next issue 25.5.2009 St Petersburg, Ms Valentina I. Matvienko, Publisher: City of Helsinki will sign with the mayor of Helsinki, Mr Jussi www.hel.fi Pajunen, an act of cooperation Editor-in-Chief: Rita Ekelund - the seventh of its kind. Phone (+358 9) 310 36074 City of Helsinki, Communications Exhibitions in the Centre of P.O. Box 1 FI-00099 City of Helsinki, Finland Russian Science and Culture The 14 to 27 April Graphic design: Guassi Oy n St Petersburg and Finnish Sciences

FRONT PAGE Send us feedback: – contacts and impulses Watch out, Gypsies! [email protected] Exhibition from the ethnographic museum. Wandering Gypsies in their colourful carriages represent an old romanticised n Finland from the Russian image that has little to do with the reality of the Roma of today. The Helsinki artists point of view City Museum hosts in Hakasalmi Villa a guest exhibition about the history Art exhibition. and culture of the European Roma. Info kit Adress: Nordenskiöldinkatu 1. The exhibition, created by the Luxemburg City History museum, has a Information for immigrants Free admission. provocative name “Watch out, Gypsies! The History of a Misunderstanding”. Info Bank is an online service aimed at immi- www.ruscentre.org The aim of the exhibition is to encourage the visitors to study their own fears grants, offering information on Finnish society and prejudices concerning this minority that has lived in Europe since and life in Finland in 15 languages. The website Chamber music concert the Middle Ages. also contains local information on Helsinki. 14 April at 20 hrs In Helsinki, the history and culture of the Finnish Roma is emphasized in the www.infopankki.fi Rozhdestvo chamber choir from St Peters- exhibition, as they differ in many ways from other European countries, says Information for everyone burg performs in the curator Jere Jäppinen. On the national day of Roma, April 8th, the culture and Adress: Unionkatu 29 music of the Finnish Roma are presented in the Hakasalmi Villa at 15–20 hrs. Virka Info telephone service (09) 310 11111 (Mon-Fri 9–15) and information point in the Free admission Adress: Mannerheimintie 13 City Hall lobby, address Pohjoisesplanadi 11–13 www.chamberchoir.spb.ru/en Opening hours Wed-Sun 11–17, Thur 11–19. Free admission. (Mon–Fri 9–19, Sat–Sun 11–17), www.virka.fi.