Dialogue on Design in Nature - Finland

How do we design and build in the most remote areas and why should we?

The Embassies of Iceland in the Nordic capitals each hosted events in the countdown to the DesignMarch festival, happening in Reykjavík May 4th - 8th. Anna María Bogadóttir, architect moderated a conversation on  Design in Nature with panelists from Iceland and from each respective country Now you can listen to these informative dialogues in a four episode podcast series.

Can we design our relationship with nature? How does design encourage and enhance our engagement with nature? These are among questions that have been explored in the project Design in Nordic Nature launched as part of a larger sustainable tourism in the north initiative under the Icelandic presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

By looking into the past, learning from vernacular design traditions as well as envisioning possible futures through innovation, new technologies and forms for collaboration, a selection of cases have been compiled in a Nordic Atlas, reflecting a broad range of design solutions and strategies that promote nature protection while encouraging responsible nature engagement. 

Anna María, architect and curator at Úrbanistan architects in Reykjavík lead the project on behalf of Iceland Design and Architecture in collaboration with Nordic partner organizations and experts.

The podcasts were recorded in the Icelandic Ambassadors‘ residences in the Nordic capitals, in cooperation with Nordic partners, Business Iceland and The Icelandic Embassies in the Nordic countries.

Anna María was joined by other architects, designers, and stakeholders from around the Nordic region, to envision and discuss the role of design in the context of sustainable tourism in the north.

Participants in the conversation held at the Icelandic embassy in Finland:

Tinna Gunnarsdóttir gained her design education in England, Germany and Italy and has been running her design studio in Reykjavik since 1993. Her work has been widely exhibited internationally. Through everyday objects and design research Tinna reflects on the environment whether it be domestic or the natural. She puts material and technology into unexpected circumstances generating a different perspective, an expanded experience - a twisted context. Her life-long immersions in Icelandic landscapes contribute to her understanding of spatial awareness, formally expressed through material objects. 

Manu Humppi, an architect that has an enthusiasm for outdoor life. Long hikes and nature has driven Manu Humppi to combine work and pleasure by becoming an architect of the wild. His thesis “Turf huts and wilderness huts” developed into a book with the same title published a few years later (Kirjakaari 2014). Ever since, Manu has been lecturing and designing buildings of that sort. Apart from small scale buildings Manu has been working with large diversity of projects in several offices in Tampere. He is currently CEO of ArkkitehtuuritoimistoVihanto& Co, a small architectural office working mainly on residential architecture.

Moderator:
Anna María Bogadóttir is a licensed architect, urbanist and curator engaging at the interface of architecture, art and urban culture. She is the founder of Úrbanistan, an architecture practice operating across the fields of architecture, planning and preservation combining research and design with curatorial and publishing practices. Anna has extensive experience in cultural planning and strategic design on municipal, national and transnational levels and has been lead-consultant for Iceland Design and Architecture in the Nordic project Design in Nature. Anna is assistant Professor at the Iceland University of the Arts.