Wednesday 12 September 2012

SPEAKING OF ALTERNATIVES


The Pavilion in Helsinki is getting ready to host HEL/LO – Let's Talk About Alternatives this evening. You, on the other hand, can prepare  by getting to know tonight's Finnish and British speakers.

SEAN GRIFFITHS 
Sean Griffiths is a director and co-founder of FAT. He has extensive project experience across numerous sectors including housing, education, leisure, arts, transport and master planning. Sean is leading FAT's team on CIAC, a 80 unit residential scheme forming the first phase of Riverside One in Middlesbrough which is the UK's largest zero carbon development. He previously worked on the delivery of the St Lucas Art Academy in the Netherlands and the Blue House in East London. Sean is highly respected amongst his peers and is a prolific contributor to architectural debate through lectures, symposia and papers. Sean is also active in academia, and along with his fellow directors, is the Louis I Kahn Visiting Professor of Architecture at Yale University.

KRISTA KOSONEN
Krista Kosonen is a Finnish designer-researcher based in Helsinki. She graduated as Master of Arts from Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in 2005, and has since worked in the fields of furniture and visual design, exhibitions and design research.  Krista is currently working on her doctoral thesis, which focuses on enjoying uncertainty in the creative process and the discovery of personal voice in design. Krista is co-founder of the Finnish collective Imu design, which has promoted young design talents by organising exhibitions since 2002. In 2012, Imu design has curated and created the concept for the WDC International Design House Exhibition - Everyday Discoveries, as well as co-organised the annual Protoshop event at Habitare Ahead. 

ANNAMARI VÄNSKÄ
Annamari Vänskä recently curated the interdisciplinary exhibition Boutique - Where Art Meets Fashion at the Amos Anderson Museum in Helsinki (2012). Boutique is a wide-ranging multi-art form exhibition that fuses fashion with art. Reminiscent of a department store of art with departments on different levels, Boutique is a total work of art with music and dance amply represented. Boutique has been created in the spirit of collaboration and community: it consists of five teams – each consisting of an artist and a designer – who have created joint works of art. The exhibition is part of the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 official program and the visual art program of the Helsinki Festival. Annamari's latest publications include a book on children's representations in fashion advertising.

ALEX WARNOCK-SMITH
Alex Warnock-Smith is an architect, urbanist and academic. Alex has taught at several leading academic institutions around the world and has lectured internationally on issues of architecture and urbanism, social justice and current affairs. He is currently a Course Master at the Architectural Association Graduate School, and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Brighton. Alex is co-founder of Urban Projects Bureau, a multi-disciplinary design and research practice engaged in a range of architectural, urban and research projects around the world. This year Alex also was part of a team that exhibited in the British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale, presenting a project that examined the role of the architect in the eyes of the public and the future of the architecture profession.