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 Hei, hei (that’s a warm hello in Finnish), to our newsletter readers from Dwell’s New York editor! It was with trepidation that I visited Helsinki in the full throat of winter this February. A flatland of birch, pine tar, and extreme weather and light, Finland is located between east (45 minutes by ferry from Estonia) and west (under Swedish control for over 700 years). The language has a mysterious disconnection from the Nordic languages (Swedish and Norwegian) surrounding it and the culture seems to swing between the poles of its people’s isolation and warmth. I quickly learned the phrase ‘no niin’ with which all travelers to the country should be immediately provided. Depending on one’s inflection, ‘no niin’ means multiple eminently useful things. It can register a range of emotions from disappointment, a crestfallen why-does-every-shop-in-Helsinki-close-at-3pm-during-the-winter, for instance, to unexpected delight, as in wow-what-a-cool-product-design-for-this-ordinary-household-handsoap! In fact, it was a banal national soap brand called Bliw (bleev) that became the source of inexhaustible obsession amongst my colleagues and I on this trip and a sign that Finnish designers tend to make everyday things good-looking and good for the environment, as a matter of course. If you can visit Helsinki, try not to miss the following people, places, and designs: Kolo  Designed by iittala’s visual director, Mari Vatanen, Kolo is an exuberant little burrow for rent in lieu of a hotel room. With its lemon-yellow walls, gallery of local art and design objects, traditional porcelain woodstove, and exposed wood beams plugged with hemp, it is both cozy and sophisticated. Vatanen has plans for a Kolo II somewhere nearby. For information/reservations, email mari.kolo@elisanet.fi or call +358 40 522 1411 Hvittrask Eliel Saarinen’s home and office and the site of a fabulous wife-swapping story. The upstairs belies Saarinen’s small stature since everything was built to his scale. Don’t miss the lakeside sauna! Alvar Aalto Home Exquisite 1936 home marked by a nakedness of materials (hemp, lightly finished wood), filled with prototypes and pieces by the architect’s assistants, and threaded with a little passage that allowed Aalto to flee from unwanted visitors. Guided tours for 15€. Savoy Restaurant Aalto’s exquisite, wood-dressed, 1937 restaurant looks over the Helsinki skyline. Eteläesplanadi 14. Tel +358 (0)9 684 4020 Artek The foundation that keeps Aalto’s legacy alive has recently hired U.K. designer, Tom Dixon as its creative director to help update and preserve the historical work. This year’s innovation: furniture in a dramatic glossy black and a stunning ad campaign that is laudable in itself. Woodnotes Artist and designer Ritva Puotila worked for Dansk for over 40 years. Today her family-run company makes fabrics from Finland’s most abundant resource—wood—since 70 percent of the country is forested. Look for the K Chair launch at the ICFF in New York City this month. Marimekko  At the Marimekko headquarters-cum-factory, the company dwells in its history without getting stuck there. A basement room holds scrapbooks filled with old (and tragically unproduced!) concept swatches and colorways—like the canary yellow pattern on a hot pink ground or scarlet on lime green called Turkinkukka. On the floor above, young fashion designers like Mika Painenen and Erja Hirei update old patterns for contemporary clothes. Nearby, over steel catwalks, the thrumming factory churns out 1.5 million meters of fabric from huge brush-stroked natural subjects by veteran Fujiwo Ishimoto to hand-sketched city scenes and comic-book-colored Finnish landscapes by 24-year-old Maija Louekari. Temppeliaukio or the Stone Church  Designed by brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, the walls of this church were excavated from natural bedrock and are lit by windows framed by the radial beams that support its copper dome. Drill marks from the 1968-69 construction were never removed from the walls, water is allowed to run from cracks in the rock face, and metal votive stands are built into the stone. Go during morning services in summer when sunlight falls onto the altar or during a concert. Lutherinkatu 3-Temppelikatu 16.Verso Like its name, Verso, which means sprout, this family- and female- run company represents a new growth in Finland’s textile industry which was wiped out by the 1990s recession when most infrastructure was sold out of the country. The ‘Polku’ (‘path’) rug design abstracts the tracks of animals through snow. Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art Stephen Holl-designed, the galleries give multiple perspectives to the outdoors and onto the other galleries. The architecture is as interesting as the art but without distracting from it. Design Forum Finland Oodles of various Finnish designers under one roof: watches to baby booties, textiles to teapots. Also check out the gallery in the rear. TonFisk A U.K. expat makes stunning tabletop pieces in wood and ceramic. Myymala 2 Art gallery and shop selling great local graphic design, books, clothing and accessories by young talents. Uudenmaankatu 23 For anyone who can’t make it to Helsinki this month but will be in New York City around Mother’s Day (May 14 for those of you who forget important dates), I’ll be moderating a panel discussion (with Jonathan Marvel, Rogers+Marvel Architects, Alex Gorlin of Alexander Gorlin Architects; and Otis Pratt Pearsall, author and founder of the Brooklyn Heights landmark district) about the history and future of the townhouse and how contemporary takes on this architectural type could affect the fabric of Brooklyn. This will take place during the Brooklyn Designs Block Party at St. Ann’s Warehouse in DUMBO. For more information, visit www.brooklyndesigns.net. Hope to see you there! Until next time, Shonquis Moreno New York editor photos by Stephen Treffinger  
The Green House:
May 20, 2006, Washington D.C.
Dwell and Sub-Zero in the Kitchen:
May 21, 2006, New York, NY
Discover Modern on Madison:
May 22, 2006, New York, NY
Support AIDS Education with American Leather:
May 31, 2006, Houston, TX
To find what other events are going on click here.
 Trex
With a few clicks of your mouse, customize your Trex deck with different colors, textures, design shapes, and outdoor living accessories to create the outdoor living space of your dreams. For help in designing the deck of your dreams, call 1-800-BUY TREX, ext. 1351, or start now at www.trex.com/spark
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 Straight and Narrow
In Singapore’s Joo Chiat neighborhood, Yang Yeo’s dramatically modern home lurks behind an 85-year-old shophouse fa?ade.
Garage Brand
Product designers Kim Colin and Sam Hecht create ultrarefined objects for Muji. Could they do the same with an old mechanics’ garage?
Cooler Ranch
In Portland, Oregon, architect Brian White transformed an ugly duckling into a house his family is proud to call home.
The Bellwether of Belvedere
Sustainable consultant to the stars Jordan Harris convinces Hollywood starlets to go hybrid, but when it came to greening his own home, he enlisted outside help.
  The Hybrid wallpaper By Sofie Eliasson and Matt Duckett In the spirit of the jackalope, the imaginary hybrid of the pygmy deer and a species of killer rabbit that can imitate a human voice and can only be caught with a flask of whiskey, Sofie Eliasson and Matt Duckett created a wallpaper system that allows for other fantastical pairings—giving an entirely new meaning to the horseshoe crab, say, or the horsefly.   New Design Cities By Marie-Josee Lacroix This bilingual book—the product of a 2004 symposium in Montreal—investigates how seven major cities have successfully fostered design. Case studies are coupled with essays by prominent theorists like John Thackara to serve as inspiration and methodology for urban planning and economic development. It’s heartening to see how city governments, urban dwellers, and tourists alike are realizing that good design augments quality of life. Don’t be surprised if Fodor’s starts giving stars for creative potential. |
