A total of 47 designers from 14 countries were selected for Habitare’s international EcoDesign exhibition. Exhibition curator Kristiina Lassus reviewed nearly a hundred entries and selected the designs that best responded to the theme. The brief for the designers was to create a wooden, ecologically sound interior design article or piece of furniture. The selected designs will be presented at the Habitare fair at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre, from September 12-16.
Curator Kristiina Lassus, courtesy of M. Pirovano.
Lassus emphasized wood as the raw material and an ecologically sound design process, in accordance with the brief and exhibition theme. Other selection criteria included originality in design, novelty of concept and technical applicability.
“The brief was very challenging and most of the entries fulfilled the criteria well, so the differences were quite marginal. In my appraisal, I emphasised ecological aspects but also expected the designs to be functional, practical, original and conceptually sound,” says Lassus.
The exhibited designers include well-known names from Finland and abroad, such as Harri Koskinen, Tapio Anttila, Yrjö Kukkapuro, Karim Rashid, Alfredo Häberli and James Irvine. New, up-and-coming designers will also be featured.
At the exhibition opening, the designer or designer group whose creation best meets the set criteria will be awarded a €5,000 prize, donated by the Finnish Fair Foundation.
The exhibition’s cooperation partners include UPM, WWF, Motiva, Häfele, Salpaus Further Education and Finnish Forest Industries. The exhibition architecture will be handcrafted from UPM’s WISA plywood and Lamwood board by cabinetmakers at the Lahti University of Applied Sciences Institute of Design. The EcoDesign exhibition is produced by Jari Pirhonen from the advertising agency Valo, and organised by the Finnish Fair Corporation.
EcoDesign 2012 designers
1. Abe, Yuki & Salonen, Anna / mottoWASABI - Finland
2. Anttila, Tapio - Finland
3. Cappa, Juan - Sweden
4. Elo, Susan - Finland
5. Falk, Tuula - Finland
6. Furukawa, Jun - Japan
7. Hai, Fang - China
8. Haoming, Zhou - China
9. Harni, Pekka - Finland
10. Hederström, Louise - Sweden
11. Hefer, Porky - South-Africa
12. Helenius, Elina - Finland
13. Hoisko, Timo - Finland
14. Holmberg, Kaarle - Finland
15. Huuskonen, Sami - Finland
16. Häberli, Alfredo - Switzerland
17. Irvine, James - Italy/UK
18. Kankkunen, Matti - Finland
19. Karhunen, Teemu - Finland
20. Karinen, Juri - Finland
21. Kermik, Jüri - Estonia/UK
22. Kober, Eva - Finland
23. Korpela, Matti - Finland
24. Koskinen, Harri - Finland
25. Krusin, Marc - Italy/Mexico
26. Kukkapuro, Yrjö - Finland
27. Kuntsi, Miska - Finland
28. Känsälä, Kaisa - Finland
29. Lahtua-Supply, Anneli & Supply, Marc - Finland/Belgium
30. Laihinen, Jalmari - Finland
31. Lappalainen, Isko & Murtonen, Mikko / iam Design - Finland
32. Leonteva, Lubov / Ludi Architects - Russia
33. Mecklin, Max - Finland
34. Merz, Rudi - Finland
35. Nyman, Kasper - Finland
36. Pasanen, Kirsi & Kentta, Mikko / Muoto2 - Finland
37. Rashid, Karim - USA
38. Ristimäki, Mikko - Finland
39. Ruoho, Heikki - Finland
40. Rygalik, Tomek - Poland
41. Sandelin, Sebastian - Finland
42. Serpola, Simo - Finland
43. Syrjälä Matti & Palomaa, Anna / Kaamos - Finland
44. Takahashi, Yuka - Finland/Japan
45. Taskinen, Ahti - Finland
46. Toivanen, Markus - Finland
47. Wiherheimo, Yrjö - Finland
