Helsinki Design Week 2011 – Part 3

The Old Customs Warehouse in the Katajanokka district of Helsinki was the venue that was chosen for this year’s main Helsinki Design Week events. The 100-year-old industrial building, designed by Gustaf Nystrom,  had been abandoned and left to lay dormant for the past 40 years, only occasionally used by the city for storage purposes. In its glory days it had been used to support the rapidly growing city and the increasing commerce flowing in and out of it.  However, Kari Korkman, the founder of Helsinki Design week saw the potential of this sleeping beauty and decided that this year the time had come to awaken her.

The ground floor of the Old Customs Warehouse was used to host the international design exhibition curated by design expert and journalist Kaj Kalin. The wooden floorboards, the staircases and bare brick walls of the Old Customs Warehouse were on display, exuding a very industrial feel and the architectural details of the windows and the towers show a valued part of Helsinki’s design history.

The To Declare exhibition featured a small selection of new and open-minded designers from around the world, whose work is relatively unknown in Finland. Flying the British flag were designers Benjamin Hubert and Samuel Wilkinson.

Personally, when I first went in, I found the exhibition a little disconcerting. It didn’t have the same feel about it as other design shows I have attended. But then again, To Declare was not about aesthetics, value or selling to the public. It was about introducing new designers who have something to say other than: “Buy it or it remains unsold”. It took me a while to get my head round this but once I had, I began to enjoy the exhibition far more and appreciate it for what it was.

This year, there was also a pop up shop at The Old Customs Warehouse, which was selling the items displayed in the exhibition.The plan is that this will be extended next year into a far bigger part of the festivities.

Next year, the plan is that further floors of the building will be used as well allowing more temporary exhibitions to take place. In a way, this year seemed to be more of a trial run for next year’s Design Week when Helsinki will take over the reins as World Design Capital 2012. The To Declare exhibition felt slightly reserved as if the hosts and curators were holding back. There was a distinct feeling of anticipation and hopefully next year the event will be able to reach its full potential.