Architecture in Helsinki

Our first trip outside of Kuopio was to Helsinki on Thursday. We went by coach with our Textile class and stayed over night. After arriving in Helsinki at around 12 noon (6 hours after leaving kuopio), we were taken to our Hostel to drop off our things. The receptionist was very rude, but the hostel itself is clean and for 20€, I can't complain.

Next, we were taken to Habitare. Before going in, the tutors told us that Finnish design is very form follows function - boy were they right. Most of the designs in the funishing and interior halls were very plain and uninspiring. However, a few designers stood out from the rest, Including Kaisi Design Studio:

In another of the halls, textile artists from around the world displayed their work, a few that caught my eye are shown below (The first two are woven :| amazing):

After 5 hours in Habitare (about 3 hours too long), we were taken back to the city centre and left to explore. I had expected to find grand buildings and very european styles of architecture, but unfortunately this did not happen. Without trying to sound ignorant, i found Helsinki reminded me very much of Manchester. However, on the outskirts some very nice second hand shops were found.

That night, after passing the Hostel by about 2 miles and getting lost, we settled into our bunks in the 12 bed dorm. I slept suprisingly well, even if getting up and down to the top bunk in the middle of the night was very ungraceful!

The next day we went to Kiasma, a Modern Art gallery in the centre of Helsinki. There were some interesting peices of work, but the two below were my favourite:

Waiting for Tomorrow on the other hand...was a waste of time: