Design, Architecture and Creativity

Finnish designers today rank among the most exciting in the world: so don’t miss the chance to appreciate the graceful and sophisticated forms serving basic everyday functions in architecture, design and homeware…

The Finnish reputation for original and practical design has its roots in a rural lifestyle where necessity was the mother of invention. Modern Finnish designers have come up with a mixture of graceful and sophisticated forms that serve basic everyday functions, from the textiles of Marimekko to the glass of Iittala.

Helsinki is packed with top class design shops and museums, so make sure you add a guided visit to the Marimekko factory, the Arabia glass and tableware exhibition, and the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art to your itinerary. Experts from these establishments will willingly share their thoughts on the guiding principles behind their particular design styles.

The city offers an ideal place to get to know Finnish design and to buy top-class Finnish design products. Located in the centre of Helsinki, the Design District Helsinki is an area full of design and antique shops, fashion stores, museums, art galleries, restaurants and showrooms. Here you can find the most interesting names, classics and trend-setters. Design District Helsinki claims to be not just a neighbourhood but also a ‘state of mind’. It is 25 streets and 170 spots on a map from shops to galleries and from design studios to design hotels. It is creativity, uniqueness, experiences, design and Finnish city culture.

Helsinki’s Design Museum, housed in a 19th century building that’s Beaux Arts in style, presents a permanent collection that focuses on the 20th century. Here you can see minimalist and functional, ceramics in eternal shapes, blown glass, silver coffee servers and a whole wall of chairs.

There are many architectural landmarks to be seen in Helsinki: Alvar Aalto’s Finlandia Hall and the ‘Church in the Rock’ by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, provide an exciting trail of architectural treasures. Throughout the rest of Finland you will also find an exciting array of architectural examples. The Metso Library in Tampere, for example, is the work of Raili and Reima Pietilä.

A popular holiday option is to embark on the Finnish Design and Architecture road tour, a journey totaling some 830km from Helsinki through Seinäjoki and up to the Lakeland city of Jyväskylä. The extent of various architecture styles and designs on the tour is quite amazing. Jyväskylä itself is the home city of Finland’s most famous architect Alvar Aalto (1898-1976), a master of functionalism, not only in areas of architecture, but also of design. Objects designed by Aalto are still a common sight in both public spaces and private homes.

 
 

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