Helsinki Design Week’s 20th anniversary again celebrated the best of Helsinki

The 20th edition of Helsinki Design Week came to a close on Sunday. Over ten days, creativity, design and architecture were celebrated in the Helsinki capital region with more than a hundred events. The main venue, Suomitalo, hosted a main exhibition on happiness that captivated professionals, local residents, and the media alike.

The urban festival kicked off at Cable Factory, where the popular Design Market clearance sale made way for fresh beginnings. The HDW Children’s Design Week main event Skidko Party! – organised together with the Skidit collective – filled Valssaamo with joy and activity all afternoon.

For the seventh time, Aalto University’s Otaniemi campus hosted the Designs for a Cooler Planet programme, which was awarded the joint Helsinki Design Award by the City of Helsinki and HDW. “The world doesn’t become a better place by itself – it is made so,” was quoted at Aalto University’s largest annual university exhibition, which brought together science, art, technology and business to highlight the latest student and researcher-driven ideas, experiments and solutions for changing the world.

Helsinki Design Award was given to the Designs for a Cooler Planet Exhibition.

The festival’s beating heart was historic Suomitalo on Lönnrotinkatu, built in 1911. There, the exhibition HAPPINESS – Can it be designed? invited visitors to discover that yes, design can indeed enhance happiness and wellbeing. A symposium inspired by the theme, featuring leading international speakers, filled the fourth-floor hall to capacity for an entire afternoon.

HAPPINESS Exhibition by Anniina Koivu turned out to be a hit among festival visitors.

The symposium was moderated by Oli Stratford.

A panel discussion with Hanna Harris, Enni Äijälä and Oli Stratford.

Another Helsinki icon celebrating its 20th anniversary, Restaurant Kuurna, offered unforgettable four-night dining experiences in a pop-up restaurant at Suomitalo, furnished in collaboration with Finnish Design Shop. Contemporary works by young Helsinki-based artists were presented by WWW Contemporary, while the a20 salon show brought together 20 emerging fashion designers to celebrate clothing as a symbol of life’s milestones, and to showcase the courage, joy, and community spirit of fashion.

Restaurant presented the new collection by HAY.

The bar, designed by Lauri Johansson with Artek, presented the works of young local artists from WWW Contemporary.

Design Diplomacy event concept invited designers to play cards at the Ambassadors’ Residences.

Across the street in the Old Church, the high-energy PechaKucha Night captivated audiences. Highlights included metalwork specialist Björk Hijoort Soppela speaking about locks, musician Joel Melasniemi reflecting on the importance of collectivity in creative work, rising Helsinki designer Irene Suosalo sharing her passion for animation, and Marko Ahtisaari unveiling a new sound project.

The anniversary festival featured many other highlights: Design Diplomacy once again welcomed international designers to ambassadorial residences; brand showrooms were transformed into immersive event spaces; and discussions explored themes ranging from darkness in design and legal design, to housing architecture, spirituality, and the relationship between professional success and meaning.

Open House Helsinki granted access to architecturally significant sites along the city’s waterfront. The group exhibitions 10 Days of Summer at the Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden and Sense of Spirituality in Kallio presented new designs, while the professional Design Tales conference shared real stories from the design processes.

10 days of Summer Exhibition took place at the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden. Photo: 10 days of Summer

The week ended with a surprise party in the attic of Suomitalo, where the Helsinki Design Night club evening – organised together with Moomin Arabia – kept festival-goers dancing to live performances until the early hours.

The rightful theme for this anniversary year was Celebration. It allowed us to pause and raise a glass to our achievements, solutions, and opportunities so far. In uncertain times, unexpected events disrupt the flow of everyday life, causing fear and anxiety. Celebrations, however, are conscious moments of pause – occasions to direct our hopes towards the future. They create space for reimagining opportunities, reinforce feelings of belonging and shared joy, and remind us of continuity and the possibility of sustainable growth, even in difficult times.

The celebrations have ended for now, but our sense of hope for the future remains strong. By staying present in this moment, we are building a world that will be worth celebrating together 20 years from now. Helsinki Design Week will continue to encourage encounters and openness to the new.

The Suomitalo stage hosted talks and events daily.

Helsinki Design Week will next take place in 28 August – 6 September 2026. The Helsinki Design Weekly media platform operates year round. Subscribe to the newsletter to stay up to date with news, phenomena and events related to design and architecture.