City of Helsinki appointed World Design Capital 2010
Helsinki will be the World Design Capital of the year 2012. The designation was announced by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) at the Icsid World Design Congress 2009 in Singapore on 25 November 2009.
Altogether 46 cities from 27 countries applied for the designation. An international jury first shortlisted Helsinki and Eindhoven of the Netherlands and then awarded the designation to Helsinki after careful consideration. The title of Helsinki’s bid for the designation was Open Helsinki – Embedding Design in Life. The concept expressed by the title will form the basis of Helsinki’s ambitious programme for the design year 2012.
For the City of Helsinki, design has for decades been a important enabler to building an open city. The concept of Embedded Design has tied design to innovation and has enabled desirable solutions that have addressed the needs of its inhabitants. Helsinki Design is also part of world design - it is created together with the international design community and the people of the world. Helsinki Design includes well-known global brands, such as Nokia, Kone and Marimekko, popular events, like the annual Helsinki Design Week, outstanding education and research institutions, such as the University of Art and Design Helsinki, and exemplary architects and designers such as Eliel Saarinen and Alvar Aalto. The World Design Capital project will bring a large number of design events and a great deal of visibility for the Helsinki region. The collaborating cities in Helsinki’s World Design Capital project, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and Lahti, will fully participate in the planning and execution of the design year’s programme.
Helsinki will be the third World Design Capital, following Torino (2008) and Seoul (2010). The World Design Capital is a biennial designation given to one city at a time.
