"COMPANY IS AAMU SONG & JOHAN OLIN. COMPANY work as artists, designers, and producers, running their own shop in Helsinki."

[See also: http://com-pa-ny.com/products/tanssipage.html AND http://com-pa-ny.com/at_moment.html AND http://www.wowsan.com/?p=872 AND http://www.salakauppa.fi/ ]

"Salakauppa (Secret shop) is Company's little dream come true in the center of Helsinki. All products in Salakauppa are designed by Aamu Song & Johan Olin of Company and are manufactured by our dearest factory friends in Finland, Belgium and Korea. For us design means celebrating the brilliant traditional skills and genuine materials. Welcome."

[See also: http://com-pa-ny.com/ ]

"Next month, as part of Helsinki’s status as Design Capital 2012, Marimekko launches a series of guerilla recreations—across Helsinki & online—of the Mari Village, a utopian project (& money sink) started in 1962 by Armi Ratia, the firm’s tough-yet-visionary founder.

Marimekko’s own PR about what this will involve is vague, & doesn’t show any images of the original site, developed in collaboration with the architect Aarno Ruusuvuori. The company certainly doesn’t go into the doubts Armi Ratia had about the village—originally planned to house 3500 inhabitants—or the reasons the plug was pulled in 1966.

My interest piqued by passing references by my friend Jenna Sutela and others, I’ve had to scour obscure PDFs to find the fullest account of the Mari Village, or Marikylä, with its experimental homes. Here’s a series of screenshots of Juhani Pallasmaa’s essay—published in Capitel Art in 1985—The Last Utopia, some images of the Marimekko Sauna System…"

"Museum of the Near Future (MNF) is an apparatus for looking sideways at and intervening in urban situations and institutions. It presents itself as social installations—such as literary circles or other temporary communities—which are set up on museum premises. Producing space for imagination and discourse, these parasitic installations attempt to destabilize perceptions of what is possible, and desirable, between the now and the next in a given area.

The first iteration of Museum of the Near Future took place at the Museum of Finnish Architecture’s dormant villa in Helsinki during autumn 2011 and in collaboration with Berlin-based Motto Distribution. MNF I explored micro-political and experimental modes of participation in Helsinki, a city undergoing grand urban transformations, such as its rapid expansion to centrally located former harbour areas or the recent identity-defining missions. Composed of a thematic book society/shop in an underused institutional facility, & involving…"

"LABORATORY — ART SPACE FOR NOW is a gallery located in the creative heart of Helsinki. Run and curated with love by Finnish photo agency Viewmasters, Laboratory offers exhibitions, experiences and events during the world design capital year. Nothing permanent — Just like the moments of sheer brilliance good photography captures."

"Besides gearing up for World Design Capital 2012, Helsinki is undergoing a food revolution enabled by the temporary, experimental nature of pop-up restaurants."

"But what I try to get at in this longer version is the idea of the tacit city, or opaque city. There is a strong element of this to Helsinki. It's possible to visit, and miss the point entirely. It doesn't offer itself up easily at all. The peculiarly distinct language exacerbates this, of course, but there are other ways in which the city remains opaque—cultural, social, environmental. But I argue that that makes the city more interesting as a result, just as it is at a different scale with London. You have to work harder at it, but it's more rewarding.

Although Helsinki has been a constant delight in our few months here, it's not immediately obvious to the visitor with preconceptions about what a city is, or some other prejudice to resolve."

"Grey Area changes the way games are understood as part of the life in the city. The Company was founded to create a breakthrough gaming experience using real world locations as the context for mobile games.

We see cities as playing fields, neighborhoods as front lines.

The core group comprises Mikko Hämäläinen, Andreas Karlsson, Teemu Tuulari and Ville Vesterinen with a network of world class investors and advisors. We are currently looking for more talent to join our team of 15. Regardless of where you reside, if you get games and just got interested, get in touch!"

"Helsinki claims the number 1 spot in Monocle’s 2011 Quality of Life survey, which ranks the top 25 cities in the world to call home. Rising from fifth position in 2010, Helsinki outperformed Zürich at number 2 and Copenhagen at number 3 to claim the mantle as the world’s most liveable city. An unorthodox but well-deserving champion, the Finnish capital stands out for its fundamental courage to rethink its urban ambitions, and for possessing the talent, ideas and guts to pull it off."

"HDL developed Studio on Education to think about future of education…

1. From equal access to edu to equal opportunity to develop ones’ talents & aspirations 2. From inherited Social Contract to a Social contract that includes voices of all stakeholders to create shared meaning 3. From current, institutional social welfare system to Social welfare system v 2.0 integrated w/ personal agency & empowerment 4. From administrative structures that are hierarchical & vertical to…inclusive, open & flexible 5. From schools as institutions for acquisition for academic skills to schools as agents of change that inspire & produce civic innovation, creativity, & holistic growth 6. From a strong focus on the normative to the inclusion of all members of society with different abilities and strengths 7. From learning for academic achievement to learning expertise for life 8. Open public discourse 9. Strengthen international networks and collaboration 10. New Suomi School for 21st Century"

[See also: http://helsinkidesignlab.org/dossiers/education/the-challenge AND http://helsinkidesignlab.org/blog/week-113 ]

"Helsinki, although clean and orderly (and a high-ranking “liveable city”, among the Vancouvers and Zürichs of the world), can seem oddly quiet, regulated and rigid to a traveler’s eye. Last saturday (21th of May) something unheard-of happened. Ordinary people all around the city took part in “Restaurant Day”. Several one-day restaurants opened up (…illegally) to serve dinners at homes, drinks on the street and picnics in the park. Here are some of the restaurants in action."

"There is a very distinct urban process going on here: clearing snow from Helsinki's roofs before it falls unpredictably or loads roofs with too much weight. According to Helsinki Times, these men are often Estonians, & known as 'snowdroppers', & carefully crawl over the roofs of Helsinki's elegant city-centre buildings, creating miniature controlled avalanches onto the cordoned-off street below.<br />
<br />
Outside of the centre this is sometimes done with amateurs, which sounds unbelievably dangerous. I like the Helsingen Sanomat's pithy note of caution:<br />
<br />
"It is dangerous enough when the snow comes down unexpectedly on people's heads - please do not add to the danger by coming down with it."<br />
<br />
As a kind of impromptu urban performance, it's strangely compelling to watch. It's a great sound too—the clatter-and-scrape of hammers and shovels loosening the ice & snow, and the gentle whump as the snowfall hits the street below some seconds later. But again, it wasn't a day for hanging around."

"This is Sitra: Building a successful Finland for tomorrow<br />
<br />
Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund is an independent public fund which under the supervision of the Finnish Parliament promotes the welfare of Finnish society. Sitra’s responsibilities have been stipulated in law.<br />
<br />
Since its establishment, Sitra’s duty has been to promote stable and balanced development in Finland, the qualitative and quantitative growth of its economy and its international competitiveness and co-operation. Our operations are governed by a vision of a successful and skilled Finland. We have always approached our operations with strong belief in the future and in the ability of the latest technology to generate well-being.<br />
<br />
Promoting systemic changes as a visionary and an enabler"

"OK Do is a socially-minded design think tank. We tackle emerging questions exploring the roles and methods of the new designer. Our aim is to cultivate design discussion and practice what we preach – think and do.

We come from hybrid backgrounds bridging design, art and science with an interest towards future. Our approach to thinking and doing is simultaneously theoretical, practical and avant-garde. According to wabi-sabi principles, it seeks to pare things down to the essence without removing the poetry.

We operate through an online publication, events as well as think-and-do projects with public and private organisations.*

Our activities are based on interaction with an international network of creative practitioners and researchers."

"set of postcards feature clues to an open & happier Helsinki. As collaboration btwn Sitra & OK Do, Clues to Open Helsinki is bundle of hints about what might make Helsinki best World Design Capital to date, & in doing so redefines role of design in contemporary city.<br />
<br />
Helsinki has shown world what design means in 2012—& you had starring role! To make our city best design capital in world required active involvement & commitment from many people, some of whom didn’t consider themselves designers…So who did make this happen? Designers, but also farmers…Have you ever thought about decisions you make as acts of design?<br />
<br />
From vantage of future, WDC2012 has surely been an economic driver for city, but also gave Helsinki an opportunity to test out new ideas about how city itself operates. This was essential in aligning economic activity w/ quality of life & real innovation in urban living. All were considered in concert to develop a harmonious municipal platform for transformation…"

"I had the same reaction again the other day. The screens are currently running ads for the Swedish high-street retailer H&M, shot with a high-speed camera – models sloooooowly turning, as a cascade of red leaves ever-so-softly settles over them and to the ground. Just as with the movie posters, I found myself paying the H&M ads an inordinate amount of attention. Because the images’ figural elements evolve so glacially against a stable background, they’d found my cognitive sweet spot, that precise interval at the threshold of visual perception that makes you ask yourself: Wait, did that just change? What part of it? And I minded not at all. (In fact, I found it kind of calming. There’s a word you certainly don’t hear every day in the context of advertising.)"

"like many designers, I have to immerse myself in cultural context of my work in order to get results. I’ve come to think of this as ‘method designing’, after method acting; way of ‘getting into character’ that consciously & subconsciously informs design process.

"The return to London had actually been via Helsinki, due to two projects there. Helsinki Vantaa is a wonderful airport, all soft sunlight, wooden floors, warm stone and steel, with free wifi and a civilized unhurried air, a near-perfect first impression of Europe...

"That is not to belittle Portland’s vision. It is a sophisticated and forward-looking place. Which other city can boast that its main attraction is a bustling independent book store (Powell’s) and that medical students can go from one part of their campus to another by gondola, taking their bikes with them? Other cities will see much to emulate. Minneapolis, for example, this month displaced Portland as Bicycling magazine’s most bike-friendly city (“they got extra points for biking in the snow,” grumble Mr Adams’s staff). Adam Davis of Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall, a Portland polling firm, says that Oregonians like to consider themselves leaders but also exceptions. They are likely to remain both."

"Hvitträsk was built between 1901–1903 by architects Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen. The main building, designed in National Romantic style, built of logs and natural stone, was both a common studio and a home for Eliel Saarinen and Armas Lindgren for some years after it was completed. During that time, Gesellius lived in the courtyard building and later moved into the north-wing of the main building after Lindgren relocated in Helsinki.

"Helsinki is one of those places that experiences extremes of light and dark, with nearly endless nights in the wintertime and almost none in the summer. Anotonio Scarponi of Conceptual Devices in Zurich, Switzerland has devised a calendar that maps out this extreme seasonal change throughout the year on a bar graph.

"Inspired by the Ars Electronica Golden Nica-winning Nuage Vert project, Pixelache, an informally organised network of electronic art festivals, and Helsingin Energia, one of the largest energy companies in Finland, are collaborating to produce artworks related to the collective energy consumption in the Helsinki area. A selection of artists were invited to submit proposals for artworks, of which the very best will be built within the public space in Helsinki or presented as online web projects. The proposals for these artworks can be found at the "Art & Energy" [pixelache.ac] webpage."

"biggest difference I've found here in Helsinki compared to living in a few 'hotspots' around the world (San Francisco, Singapore, Bangalore etc) What stands above and beyond any experience I've had elsewhere has been my interactions with the local government or public services. Call it service design, customer or user experience, the fact remains that the Finns have somehow managed to find an answer that works when it comes to leaving the end user feeling on top of the world. Yes, I may digress into hyperbole here but as any of you who have faced the experience of dealing with customer service that's so regimented according to prescripted interactions that if you miss some required paper or information you're instantly incapable of being assisted would recognize, the opposite is bound to be a pleasure."

"The University has stated that it will will "make a positive contribution to Finnish society, technology, economy, art, art and design, and support the welfare of both humans and the environment".

"Every night from the 22 to the 29 of February 2008, the vapour emissions of he Salmisaari power plant in Helsinki will be illuminated to show the current levels of electricity consumption by local residents."

"quick survey of new informational approaches to transport, hinging on individual behaviour and engagement via public data. We'll travel from wifi on buses to designs for timetables embedded in the fabric of stations, stopping off at trams in Google Maps

"How would people drop out of, or at least minimize their digital traces and minimize contributing to create others’?"

"Every night from 22-29 Feb 2008 vapour emissions of Salmisaari power plant in Helsinki will be illuminated to show current levels of electricity consumption by local residents...laser ray will trace cloud during night time, turn it into a city scale neon

"Helsinki City Transport is currently fitting *its entire fleet* with Linux servers. Not only will each bus or tram become a travelling wireless hotspot, but you will be able to see exactly where in the city your new bus actually is. Meaning that you only

"The city of Sibelius, known as a center for innovative technology and design, now stakes its claim as an urban hotspot"

"They speak English, and they have the right mix of technology and tolerance to attract talent. They're the international cities competing with the United States for the global talent pool."