Projects
Design Exchange Programme
Last updated 31 May, 2013

outcome3Jaana in Helsinki Social Services has redesigned and launched a new online service concept for families with children. Built on the logic of family...
PARTNERSPartners City of Lahti; City of Helsinki, Department of Social Servcies; Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy; Finnish Ministry of the...

DIVIDER embedsMeet our embedded designers
Brickstarter
Last updated 29 May, 2013
MORE: bsr blogThe Brickstarter project blog is the best place to find more information about the project. The introduction and background posts are good places to...
more: downloadIf you want to dig into the code, you can download a rough clickable mockup of a portion of Brickstarter as a package (of HTML, CSS, and...
More text 1Brickstarter recognizes that the built environment entails such cost, lengthy timelines, and potential divisiveness that the ways we make choices...

What's happening now?What's happening now? By publishing the Brickstarter book (above) we are opening this work to the world to carry forward. We have also been advising...
Open Kitchen
Last updated 29 May, 2013
intro textOpen Kitchen is an invitation—to a new meal, a new experience, a new Helsinki. We created a practical training programme for participants to...
Monday 10/12/2012Monday 10/12/2012 Managing a restaurant Maija Ijäs Menu Planning Heikki Purhonen Making it in Finland Toshiaki Hoshi Working dinner
happening nowWhat's happening now? At the time of writing (June 2013) Haaga Helia, the main hospitality school in Helsinki, is exploring how they can offer Open...
header backgroundBackground materials
CostsHow much did this cost? Development of the programme and running it one time cost approximately €50,000, exclusive of Sitra/HDL staff salaries.
Low2No
Last updated 29 May, 2013
outcomes2Changing fire codes to allow for large scale wood construction in Finland A particularly significant one was the change in fire codes around wood....

essay: davidMaking Sustainable Cities Investable Read on Low2No.org By David Wood
Sitra roleSitra/HDLs Role Designed and funded Low2No competition; lead project team through city block design phases; initiated related projects (e.g. Open...
DIVIDER outcomesOutcomes (as of June 2013)
Clues to Open Helsinki
Last updated 18 March, 2012



IntroThese 'postcards from the future' were written in 2010 as a first pass at developing ideas for World Design Capital 2012. Some of the themes...

Growing Västerbotten (HDL x UID)
Last updated 17 January, 2011
introUmeå Institute of Design invited us to lead a workshop as part of the school's Prototyping the Future experiment, a week where the...


FridayFriday 09:00-11:00: Finalizing presentation 11:00-13:00: Final presentation 13:00-15:00: Conversation + Guests: Chris Heister, Governor, County...

Ageing Studio (2010)
Last updated 12 August, 2010
Curiously, hospice care seemed to extend survival for some patients; those with pancreatic cancer gained an average of three weeks, those with lung cancer gained six weeks, and those with congestive heart failure gained three months. The lesson seems almost Zen: you live longer only when you stop trying to live longer. When Cox was transferred to hospice care, her doctors thought that she wouldn’t live much longer than a few weeks. With the supportive hospice therapy she received, she had already lived for a year.
Building a deep value economy - force ALL pension investments to be stress tested over the total likely investment period 40yrs.
Older workers, who typically fared better than their younger counterparts in recessions, have been hit just as hard by layoffs this time around. As a result, the fraction of people 65 or older who are working has leveled off after a long period of growth.
Gray Gold1. Gray Gold The elderly have massive investment and purchasing power. How can this be activated to create new markets for products and services?...
Co-creation mandate4. Co-Creation to drive new services What if all new public services in Finland we required to be co-created?
Education Studio (2010)
Last updated 12 August, 2010
7. From learning for academic achievement to learning expertise for life7. From learning for academic achievement to learning expertise for life
5. From schools as institutions for acquisition for academic skills to schools as agents of change that inspire and produce civic innovation, creativity, and holistic growth5. From schools as institutions for acquisition for academic skills to schools as agents of change that inspire and produce civic innovation,...
4. From administrative structures that are hierarchical and vertical to Ones that are inclusive, open and flexible4. From administrative structures that are hierarchical and vertical to ones that are inclusive, open and flexible

9. Strengthen international networks and collaboration 9. Strengthen international networks and collaboration Within education, Finland has an opportunity to use its PISA status to lead internationally...
Sustainability Studio (2010)
Last updated 10 August, 2010
7. Invent Medium-Density Public Transport 7. Invent Medium-Density Public Transport Innovations in products and services catered to transportation within a medium-density population
6. Adopt Mixed Use6. Adopt Mixed Use Intensify live, work, shopping, and leisure spaces to reduce travel needs.

9. Performance Based Building Permits & Audits9. Performance Based Building Permits & Audits Carbon budgets should inform building design, permitting, and usage.
