In 2015 the exhibition had four themes of which the partici-pating designers were able to choose the basis for their entries. All the entries were curated by the curator Simo Heikkilä and 5-10 pieces of each theme was chosen on display. EcoDesign Exhibition arranged in conjunction with the Habitare fair 9 – 13 September at the Messukeskus Helsinki.

THE PARTICIPATING DESIGNERS CHOSE THE PREMISE OF THEIR DESIGN FROM FOUR THEMATIC CATEGORIES:

1. An interior design product made of PEFC-certified wood and UPM Grada, a thermoformable wood material. The wood for the designs selected for the exhibition was provided by UPM.

2. An outdoor light fitting for garden use, based on ecologically sound materials and energy-efficient LED technology.

3. A planter for useful plants in a home garden, for placement indoors or outdoors, such as on the balcony, taking into account year-round use.

4. A trolley for the sale of coffee and tea in offices and at exhibitions and trade fairs, and for use in pop-up activities, indoors or outdoors.

In addition to demonstrating high design quality, the designs were to address issues related to environmental friendliness in manufacturing; material choice; the manufacturing process; packaging and logistics; durability; maintainability; and recyclability. The designs were to take into account the entire life-cycle of the product.

Finnish Professor Simo Heikkilä graduated as an Interior architect from the Institute of Industrial Arts in 1967. After his graduation he has acted e.g. as a CEO of the Wood program at the School of Arts and Design and as a professor of the furniture design at the Aalto University.

During his impressive career, companies such as Vivero, Avarte, Inno, Nikari, Swedish Materia and Dutch Lensvelt have produced his design. He has taught in various design schools e.g. in the Aalto University and Heikkilä is widely known as an exhibition architect. During his long career he has won prestigious recognition awards such as Pro Finlandia Medal and Kaj Franck Award in 2011 and his works have been on display all over the world.

The cooperation partners of the EcoDesign exhibition were: PEFC-Finland, Toyota Auto Finland, Motiva, Isku, WWF Finland, UPM, and Fiskarin Laatupuu. The exhibition was also supported by the Otto A. Malm Foundation.

In the end, Simo Heikkilä decided to divide the Finnish Fair Foundation award between Jaakko Siltanen and Matti Sandberg, Samuli Naamanka and Mika Ihanus, and Kasper Nyman, because their designs best met the criteria of the exhibition. Jaakko Siltanen and Matti Sandberg received €3,000, Samuli Naamanka and Mika Ihanus €1,500, and Kasper Nyman €500. In addition, the jury gave an honourable mention to Irina Pått. In addition to Simo Heikkilä, the jury members were: the interior architect Kaisa Blomstedt from Studio Kaisa B, the marketing

manager Juha Uppa from PEFC Finland, the expert Riitta Lempiäinen from Motiva, and the producer Jari Pirhonen from the advertising agency Valo.

PEFC FINLAND AWARD GOES TO MERI-TUULI PORRAS

PEFC Finland decided to give their award to the designer Meri-Tuuli Porras. The award consisted of high-quality Finnish timber from Fiskarin Laatupuu, worth €1,500.

Aalto, Kaija

Anttila, Tapio

Furukawa, Jun & Sato

Yuka / Atelier Yocto

Harni, Pekka

Haverinen, Elina

Helavuo, Samuli

Väre, Laura

Holén, Nanni

Holmberg, Kaarle

Huhtakangas, Laura

Kukkapuro, Yrjö

Jansson, Sebastian

Kärki, Anne

Naamanka, Samuli  

Ihanus, Mika

Nyman, Kasper

Paakkanen, Mikko

Porras, Meri-Tuuli

Pått, Irina

Siltanen, Jaakko 

Sandberg, Matti 

Soini, Hinni

Suvila, Fanni

Särökaari, Hanna

Taskinen, Ahti

Takahashi, Yuka

Tuominen, Terhi 

Patel, Jitan V.

Ulvio, Elina

Uski, Maiju