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13 Apr 2009, Posted by Travis Price in Guests from Washington D.C., 0 Comments

Journal of Travis Price on April 9


DAY 5– THURSDAY – Mikko, Irma-Riitta, Ami, Valeri, Susanna

This was a day less about “D”esign , but more as about the cultural powers behind design….my day is greeted by Mikko and our stopping at the harbor…. while grey , the landscape is full of a band of morning seekers headed to work, headed to meetings. In true fashion along the walk ways I see tour boats docked, ice breaking up from winter, the Byzantine church on the hill , the Aalto white box dead center…..( soon to be copied in a way as a new non contextual icon hit by Herzog and Demeuron ’s new hotel , the Swiss Ice Cube…. the orange tents are full of good cheer, good eats, and coffee, coffee, coffee… the elixir and antidote of dawn and grey skies….

I am greeted at a one of Helsinki’s classical joys, the Finnish Historical Society for my 2nd lesson on the great Kalevala, the mysterious mythical saga of Finnish lore…The doors open , the statue of Vainamoinen sits with an adoring maiden. I am greeted by Irma-Riitta who apologizes for the moving headaches during these days of recent renovations….I am immersed by her into the linear and non linear inquiries of the telling of the tale….We only begin to delve into what the Kalevala encompasses and the various ways of hearing, reading and comprehending its impact on the mythical seat of Finnish culture. I see great copies of the Kalevala, old , new intensely heavy versions as well as well, yes an infamous Donald Duck version. ….Later I see one at the airport for children , The Canine Kalevala…. Irma powers my mind with the pay dirt of spiritual and mythical inquiries….. somehow I have met the pensive and hearty trail of Finnish culture tickled by humor without hubris…. Irma delightfully guides me through recordings of the singing meter of the Kalevala….then a non stop talking walk to the bookstore and suddenly I am generously weighted down with books and tapes galore….I knew I had found the other half of myhelsinki quest, the myth that would guide my quest for the architecture of the modern Kalevala.

If this was a taste of ancient Finnish psyche, next my 2 hours with marketing genius Ami Hasan who invited me to jam on ideas after attending my lecture on the “Archaeology of Tomorrow”. Like Kari’s design world view, Ami walked me into a deeper understanding of the world of the living market for design as well as landscapes of Finland… the traditional Thursday green pea soup , bread hit the spot as did the hip creative atmosphere of open planning and funky design….and like everyone I met the idea of constructing a Sacred Sauna of the Kalevala lead to more and more suggestions and site dreams….
A slow step through Kampi….one of many massive blocks of indoor malls full of design and pedestrian mixed use projects that made Helsinki twice as big as it appears. The outer streets and inner realms of retail and housing are a rich stew of life, design, and commerce.

Even clearer , a full archaeological walk through at the Museum of Finnish history guided by graduate student , Valeri Saltikoff, opened my understandings of the recorded beginnings of Finland’s peoples migrating north, surviving snow, forging steel, living in the cold…. Sweden, Tsarist and Marxist Russia…therein were all the basic tools of the Kalevala including painted murals by Akseli Gallen-Kallela , all in the Castle of History…. I am beat and Susanna treats me to a quiet dinner… and design reigned again at a hip restaurant ,grotesk, modern mix, red chairs everywhere…a never ending delight of careful design from concept to endless details of design, forks, knives…lamps, veiled dividing walls…. and sleep!

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About the writer

Travis Price Architect, Travis Price Architects Travis Price
A lecturer on the recent National Geographic Seven Continents Tour, Travis Price found himself for the first time on the streets of Kochi, India. Inside a Hindu shrine he encountered glass-encased statues of Catholic priests under giant Christian billboards draped in garlands, and a Buddha with a third eye sporting the nose of Alexander the Great. "Underneath all these cultural overlaps," recalls Price, "were the deeper origins of earliest India, wrapping the whole in silk and perfume and making it all at home." For three decades as an architect, author, teacher, and philosopher Price has delighted in discovering these cultural intersections and metaphors that define our world. In his groundbreaking books The Archaeology of Tomorrow and the forthcoming Sojourns into the Ethnosphere, Price defines a vision for where architecture should be headed beyond green. In an award-winning architecture informed by ecology and mythology and in the pioneering Spirit of Place Program at the Catholic University of America that introduces new architects to the tenets of his vision, he restores spirit of place to modern design. "Finland is homeland to two of my favorite architects-Alvar Aalto and Eero Saarinen. The prospect of being around their work and underlying influences excites me. I love absorbing cultural vibes-people, nature, the eccentricities, and the earlier, deeper history-and then imagining new buildings and sharing the discovered hidden threads of that heritage with others."

Host

Kari Korkman Helsinki Design Week Kari Korkman

Helsinki is becoming a "Design-Driven city". Future strategies will include design as one of the spearheads for development. "Multidisciplinarity" describes the definition of "design" in the post-industrial phase of the modern world. Architecture, design education, fashion design, industrial design, interior design, landscape architecture, urban planning/design, design management, design research, service design, etc. will all be in the loop when Helsinki applies for the title of World Design Capital 2012.

The next 10-15 years will be an era of city planning, architecture and building constructions. The new harbour outside the city centre in Vuosaari has released large areas by the water-front for new purposes. Helsinki will face opportunities and challenges similar to those of, e.g. the city of Hamburg a decade ago.

All in all, this is a great moment for Mr Travis Price to enter the world of Helsinki. He will be hosted by Mr Kari Korkman, the founder and director of Helsinki Design Week, the annual festival for creative industries. During his visit Mr Price will become acquainted with the history of Finland and its renowned architecture and design. In addition, he will have the opportunity to meet a number of contemporaries in urban design, academics, arts, crafts, fashion, industry and - you never know - mystics.