Main Venue: Paasivuorenkatu 3
Paasivuorenkatu 3 is the main stage of Helsinki Design Week
Interesting discussions, exchanges of ideas and encounters will take place on the main stage, the old bank hall owned by the main partner Antilooppi. Programme partners Marimekko and Let Me Wine will ensure that the venue transforms into a comprehensive experience, with Bar Unikko open from Wednesday to Saturday (11–14 September). Both city residents and design professionals can enjoy a daily changing discussion programme, from the afternoon until late at night.
Paasivuorenkatu 3 will also host two installations inspired by HDW’s annual theme Underneath, as well as the studio for Helsinki Design Weekly media interviews and creativity-awakening workshops. The studio will also feature a curated selection of reading material related to the Underneath theme.
The stage for discussions and encounters will also be set up in the old bank hall.
On Wednesday, the topic is fashion and the creative opportunities for designers and business models made possible by new, sustainable materials. These topics will be discussed by some of the most interesting designers and thinkers in the Nordic countries.
Thursday’s theme is architecture, and together with the new Architecture and Design Museum, we will discuss radical concepts related to the museum’s implementation. In the afternoon, we will hear a presentation by MoMA’s Paola Antonelli on the role of museums as agents of change. Thursday will culminate in the popular House by an Architect evening event, where well-known architects will talk about their favorite residential buildings – those they wish they had designed themselves.
Friday’s theme is interdisciplinary creativity and the challenges and opportunities of collaboration in this context. Helsinki’s most interesting names in design will take the stage, and the official afterparty of the neighborhood-spanning Open Studios event will be held. The workweek ends with the fast-paced PechaKucha Night. On Friday, HDW’s partner Panda® offers a chance to explore a new delicious furniture material together with designer Yuki Abe, known for his playful and surprising design language. This sweet design project invites its audience to discover design and its possibilities, even in unexpected places.
On Saturday, the focus is on urban planning, with interesting talks for city residents from the City of Helsinki, Archinfo and Finnish Design Info. In the afternoon, there will be a traditional pub quiz where the top expert in design will be awarded. Saturday night will culminate in the Helsinki Design Night club evening, organized in collaboration with 417 World.
Paasivuorenkatu 3 offers free, accessible entry. You can explore the daily programme below.
Wednesday, 11 September, 4–9 PM
4:30–5:30 PM: Panel discussion: Nordic fashion experts discuss the opportunities offered by developing materials for creative design and new business models in the industry. Speakers: Founder of Swedish brand Main Nué Maja Freiman, Icelandic fashion designer Sól Hansdóttir, stylist Claudia Cifu and doctoral researcher and designer Noora Yau. Moderated by designer Anna Semi (in English).
6–7 PM: Keynote by the director of the Nordic organization ALPHA Ane Lynge-Jorlén. The keynote will present experimental work by emerging Nordic fashion designers and share how the Nordic fashion organisation, ALPHA, empowers them through exhibitions and strengthens the wider Nordic fashion culture.
7–9 PM: Music played by friends of HDW!
Thursday, 12 September, 4–9 PM
4:15 PM: Introduction: Kaarina Gould: Presentation of the AD museum online competition gallery (in English).
4.30 PM: Panel discussion: Don’t forget to play. A session with rapid-fire presentations, moderated by New York-based DVDL’s Associate Director Maria Budtz Sorensen, on inspiring and radical concepts for the new museum. Presentations by Liza Chong, Ervin Latimer, Linda Liukas, Johannes Suikkanen and Teemu Suviala.
5.30 PM: Panel discussion: How can a functional museum be built for the communities of this century? Speakers: Tommi Laitio, Héctor Noval and Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen. Moderated by Amos Rex director Kieran Long (in English).
6.30 PM: Keynote: Paola Antonelli: On Creating Change: Museums as an R&D Tool for Society (in English).
8 PM: House by an Architect. In this popular event concept, architects present their favorite residential buildings designed by their colleagues. Featuring architects Timo Karasalo, Esa Laaksonen, Anu Puustinen, Miia-Liina Tommila and Henrik Ilvesmäki, among others (in English). More information about House by an Architect can be found here.
Friday, 13 September, 4–11 PM
4–5 PM: Panel discussion: Habitare & HDW. Helsinki Design Week programme director Anni Korkman, Habitare creative lead Päivi Helander, Marimekko’s Design Director, Home & Print Design Minna Kemell-Kutvonen and illustrator Ulla Donner discuss the mystery of the creative process. (in Finnish).
5–6 PM: Weekly talks: Interview with the winner of the Helsinki Design Awards Reaktor: designers Minttu Paukkunen and Panu Korhonen. In English.
7–8 PM: Music played by HDW friends! The after party of the Open Studios event! More details here.
8–10 PM: PechaKucha night. The presentation format, developed by Japanese architects, has strict rules: each presentation consists of twenty images shown for twenty seconds. The total duration of the presentation is exactly six minutes and forty seconds – and the content and presentation style are completely free, and usually a surprise! Presenting on the Paasivuorenkatu stage will be creative director Antero Jokinen, architect Liisa Ryynänen, visual artist Dora Dalila, Ouioui newsletter’s Pietari Pyykönen, Noinseitsemän collective designers Emma Tahvanainen, Siiri Rajalin, Roosa-Emilia Rinkainen and Samu Pitkänen, as well as graphic designer and podcaster Kasper Strömman (in English). More information about PechaKucha Night can be found here.
Saturday, 14 September, 4–11 PM
4–5 PM: From the map. On the map. Discussing the international visibility of Finnish design will be Hakola’s Annaleena Hakola, skater and landscape architect Janne Saario, and Helsinki’s Chief Design Officer Hanna Harris. The moderators will be Finnish Design Info’s executive director Kirsi Juva and Archinfo’s communications manager Miina Jutila. The event will also launch Helsinki’s design and architecture map (in Finnish). You can meet the panelists here.
5–6 PM: Marimekko presents: Design quiz (in English).
6–8 PM: Music played by friends of HDW!
8–11PM: Helsinki Design Night (Afterparty at Post Bar)
Installations
Two installations inspired by HDW’s annual theme Underneath. Liisa Ryynänen and Matti Ahopelto’s CEILING UNDERCURRENTS can be found in the old bank vault. At the entrance, you can explore the EMBODIED REFLECTIONS artwork, created in collaboration with participants from the Aalto ARTS Summer School course.
