Habitare 2010 explores dimensions of design

 

Open to the public through September 5, 2010, the Habitare fair stretches across the Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre. The booths, displays and programmes provide a broad presentation of the Finnish design industry today and incorporate many international designers.

 

A special design and meeting area at Habitare, Ahead!, focuses on the theme of synergy, shifting the attention to individuals involved in design. The creators of Ahead!, industrial designer Hannu Kähönen and design group Anteeksi, have built a “design skills market”, complete with traditional Finnish outdoor market booths, in the exhibition hall.

 

The Ahead! design area includes a display of the ten finalist works of the Habitare design competition, meant for young designers. This year’s theme of the competition is a recycled seat suitable for public spaces and limited production runs. The winner of the competition is “Rrround” by two Lahti Design Institute students, Arttu Kuisma and Janne Melajoki, made from 250 square metres of recycled carpet from the exhibition floor. “The idea and the solution are as obvious as our presence at this trade fair,” says the head of the jury, Swiss designer and professor Alfredo Häberli.

 

The Ahead! design area also incorporates Protoshop, a display and forum for new concepts and prototypes on offer for manufacturers. Proposals for the forum have been obtained via an open competition. Protoshop is organized by Imu Design.

 

Finnish furniture design is concentrated in the Made in Finland section. The section features original furniture by Finnish designers produced in Finland.

 

Habitare 2010 is complemented by a number of exhibitions and related events that deepen the trade event’s offering.

 

Designpartners100

 

Helsinki Design Week extends its presence from the main venue, Cable Factory, to the Habitare fairgrounds with Designpartners100. This exhibition puts on view design novelties ranging from industrial design to architecture, to graphic design and fashion, to contrast Habitare’s traditional design offerings.

 

“Designpartners100 explores fast-growing sectors of design where design is no longer limited to physical objects,” says Kari Korkman, creator and director of Helsinki Design Week.

 

EcoDesign

 

Habitare continues its trend since 2009 to organize its traditional special exhibition around the theme of ecological design. This year’s EcoDesign exhibition focuses on lighting appliances and ecological innovations in lighting.

 

The Valo-Light EcoDesign exhibition, curated by the internationally famed lighting designer Ingo Maurer, has invited more than 100 designers from 12 countries to join, from established top designers to young designers in the early stages of their careers. They have tackled the task of new, ecological lighting design with products ranging from unique one-off pieces to items meant for mass production, inspired by recyclability and energy efficiency.

 

A Valo-Light jury has selected four designs for prizes. First prize goes to Finnish designer Samuli Naamanka for his “Biogradable Roll on” lamp shade. The special merits of the lamp shade, made from recycled materials, include its low material demand and ease of production and transportation.

 

The other three prize winners are Henrik Enbom (Finland), Heath Nash (South Africa) and Julien De Smedt (Belgium).

 

ArtHelsinki

 

The only trade fair event for contemporary art in Finland, and the largest one in the Nordic countries, ArtHelsinki is larger and more international this year than at previous Habitare events. ArtHelsinki 10 comprises works from 46 galleries in seven countries.