HELLO SEPTEMBER

Photo: Aleksi Niemelä

The customised HEL/LO chairs are back from holidays, eager to seat Finnish and British architecture and design professionals this autumn. With two cities, two dates and two themes, the HEL/LO series offers double enjoyment this September. Join us in Helsinki or London for discussions on doing things one's own way, and of daring to think one step ahead.


HEL/LO – Let's Talk About Alternatives
Wednesday 12 September
6-9 pm at Paviljonki, Helsinki

HEL/LO – Let's Talk lands in Helsinki for its penultimate event and is inviting you to a discussion about alternatives in architecture, design and art. The speakers include London guests Sean Griffiths from architecture studio FAT and architect and urbanist Alex Warnock-Smith from Urban Projects Bureau along with the Helsinki guests curator, columnist and researcher Annamari Vänskä and designer-researcher Krista Kosonen of IMU Design. The talk is chaired by Beatrice Galilee, the chief curator for the 2013 Lisbon Architecture Triennale.

Join us for an evening of lively conversation with some of the most creative minds from London and Helsinki, who have gained a reputation for doing things their own way.

Emmi Salonen (Studio EMMI) and Chrissie Macdonald (Peepshow Collective) will open the evening by giving an insight to their collaboration on the HEL/LO visuals and set design.

The Talk is followed by early autumn hot toddies. The event is free, but seats are limited.


HEL/LO – Let's Talk About Tomorrow
Wednesday 19 September
6-7.30 pm at designjunction, London

The fourth and final HEL/LO – Let's Talk event of 2012 will be held at designjunction as part of the preview night programme. For HEL/LO – Let's Talk About Tomorrow, Helsinki-based architect Tuomas Toivonen from NOW and designer and professor Timo Salli from Aalto University together with co-founder and design director Dick Powell from London-based design company Seymourpowell and sustainability innovator, senior TED fellow Rachel Armstrong will participate in a talk chaired by Blueprint editor Johnny Tucker.

The theme will cover the inspirations and opportunities they see in the near and distant future, and what they are doing to achieve their goals. In a year that has seen London host the Olympic Games and Helsinki attract the attention of the world as World Design Capital, HEL/LO will ask the speakers to share ideas about how we can move forward.

The talk is followed by the designjunction preview night programme, including a live auction. Drinks and refreshments will be served.

Seats are limited, please arrive early.

Welcome!
The HEL/LO Team

VIDEO: MEET OUR DESIGNERS

The Finnish Institute met with the Finnish-British designer duo Emmi Salonen and Chrissie Macdonald to discuss their work and what it takes to visualize a project like HEL/LO – Let's Talk. Come and see the designer's work in action at HEL/LO – Let's Talk About Games this Friday at the White Building in Hackney Wick. Book your ticket here.

DREAM BIG

Hello. It’s time to talk about dreams.

After many months and equally many phone calls and emails, we are very excited to announce the programme and speakers for the first HEL/LO – Let’s Talk event.

HEL/LO – Let’s Talk About Dreams, held at The Gopher Hole in Hoxton 24 May, focuses on self-initiated, DIY architecture and design projects that shape the cities and communities we live in.

The Gopher Hole. Photo: Lynton Pepper.

The speakers for the event are Helsinki-based architect and designer Hella Hernberg and Olli Sirén, producer and initiator of groundbreaking community projects together with the London-based designer and art director Asif Khan and the young architectural practice Mobile Studio.

Self-initiated projects are proving that the urge to create is stronger than ever. The speakers taking part in the first HEL/LO – Let’s Talk event have created publications, manifestos, buildings, products and events that have had an impact in London and Helsinki. They will discuss the proactive nature of their work and the changing methods designers and architects are using. What does it really take to turn a dream into reality?

A dream can be inspirational, unforgettable, even life changing. So can a really good conversation. If you can dream it, you can definitely talk about it.

HEL/LO – Let’s Talk About Dreams is a free event, but booking is essential. Secure your ticket here.

ONE NIGHT IN HELSINKI

Photo Helen Korpak

The idea for HEL/LO – Let's Talk can be traced back to a conversation in the small hours of the morning in a bar and pool hall in central Helsinki. The conversation was bubbling away and, like so many conversations that occur at that ungodly hour, the topics covered meandered from architecture, to design, to film, to family, to the price of houses, to the price of beer, to who will buy the next drink, back to architecture, to art, to whether we should all go home…

What had brought together the people at the table that night was the prelude to a design event scheduled to take place in London a few weeks later as part of the design festival. In the days and weeks following that night, emails, texts, books, films and pictures were pinged back and forth between those present – proving points, illustrating ideas and sharing inspiration. Friendships and professional relationships were formed and continue to this day. 

At its heart, HEL/LO – Let's Talk is a continuation of that night. 

Since starting this project with the Finnish Institute, the scope of the project has grown through conversations and the willingness of people to engage with this simple idea. Our collaboration between Studio EMMI and Chrissie Macdonald of Peepshow Collective emerged after an informal meeting. In the same vein, it’s hoped that the conversations that start at each HEL/LO – Let's Talk event, prompted in some way by the panel discussions that we have organised, will help develop the connections between the talented, diverse and opinionated design professionals and students in each city.

We look forward to meeting you on the 24th at the Gopher Hole.

Owen Pritchard

Senior Writer, Blueprint Magazine

HELLO HELSINKI, HELLO LONDON!

Photo Helen Korpak

The Finnish Institute in London is delighted to announce a series of events called HEL/LO – Let’s Talk. They will bring together architecture and design professionals from London and Helsinki for a lively exchange of ideas. The first HEL/LO event kicks off in London 24 May with two further events during the London Festival of Architecture in July and London Design Festival in September. HEL/LO will also travel to Helsinki during Helsinki Design Week in September as the city and its people engage in a year-long exploration of what design can do.

HEL/LO is about promoting dialogue and forging connections. London-based Finnish designer Emmi Salonen of Studio EMMI is creating a strong visual image for the events, including a HEL/LO blog and a set of postcards to reflect the ideas. “At the core of the concept lies a dialogue between Helsinki and London. The logo consists of two circles, hinting towards speech bubbles. By using two typefaces for the logo, English Gill Sans by Eric Gill and Finnish Cider by Tomi Haaparanta, we get the conversation going,” Salonen says. Salonen is also collaborating with Chrissie MacDonald of the creative collective Peepshow to create a customised stage for each event. “Me being a Finn and Chrissie English, will further emphasis the exchange of ideas,” says Salonen. “It remains to be seen where this takes us…”

The Finnish Institute has been busy building links between the Helsinki and London design communities and staging a number of commissions during the last few years. “At London Design Festival 2010, Londoners were wooed by pop up restaurant HEL YES! while in 2011 they found themselves dreaming and listening to performances in the hems of a massive REDDRESS. These have been spaces to share ideas and meet in. They were design-led projects with fresh takes on what the role of the designer is and where design happens,” says Hanna Harris, programme director at the Finnish Institute. “With HEL/LO, we wish to nurture those ideas and multiply the links. Let’s talk."

HEL/LO – LET'S TALK ABOUT DESIGN

The Finnish Institute is organising a series of events called HEL/LO – Let's Talk. They will bring together Finnish and British architecture and design professionals for a lively exchange of ideas.

Curated by Hanna Harris, Programme Director for Arts & Culture at the Finnish Institute in London, and Blueprint magazine's Senior Writer, Owen Pritchard, HEL/LO aims to promote dialogue and collaboration between Helsinki and London through an exploration of the design culture in each capital and the pressing issues architects and designers face.

Four HEL/LO events will take place during key times of the year, kicking off late May in London during Clerkenwell Design Week and with two further events during the London Festival of Architecture in July and London Design Festival in September. HEL/LO will also travel to Helsinki during Helsinki Design Week in September as the city and its people engage in a year-long exploration into the role of design.

HEL/LO – Let's Talk is organised in collaboration with Blueprint magazine and it is part of the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 international programme of events.

The helloletstalk.fi blog will be launched on the 12th of April.