As I had to explain to several Irish people who saw the building illustrated in your uploaded photo, that isn't an apartment block. It's the multi-media wing of Helsinki University of the arts and is located just five minutes walk from my home. Inside there are multiple photo and video editing suites along with a number of photographic and 3D studios used in animation and film, and I've previously hired the students there for photography shoots for art/music projects.
The colour scheme looks rather fetching and the idiot news reporter who selected the shot from stock files incorrectly identified it as an apartment block housing regular folks. It's an extension of the original Finnish design Arabia and Iittala crockery and glass-wear factories which today are commercial outlets catering for tax-free Asian and Chinese tourists who flock there every day of the year. The apartment block I'm in reflects the history of the area by using broken crockery pieces from the factory set into the concrete walls on the ground levels of the apartment blocks. There are many such hidden treats like this all over Arabianranta which was reclaimed from the sea back in the 1990's before the building of these blocks commenced. Outside my block sits Tapio Wirkkalan puisto: '
Tapio Wirkkala Park is an art park consisting of sculptures located in the Arabianranta quarter in Helsinki, Finland. The park is named after Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala and was designed by American artist Robert Wilson'.
Wikipedia
In the center of the art park there's a portal on ground level which drops around five meters underground wherein sits a small PA system which plays the verbal announcement channel of Helsinki airport departures area. There's another in a pavement shore across in Kallio, into which the rain and melting snows flow during the harsh seasons. It's not very loud, you have to listen closely but you get the idea. It's not in real time either, rather it's recorded digitally and the files updated every few hours. Why? Well, why not? It's an unusual idea and a fun one too. Anyway, this is the park outside:
As you can see, there are four quadrants and each has its own theme and some are lit from beneath. The general idea is an inside-out house with a marble mantle in one quadrant, rectangular Finnish marble stones which rotate, two sets of 'gates' on either corner, and a few totems of reindeer, birch tree trunks, and in the center is the portal from which the airport announcements beams. It's a popular picnic spot in summertime and is often full of tots out for the sunshine with their carers from the päiväkoti in my basement.
Further to your incorrect assumption that your photo is an apartment block, its location next to the old factory and to the new Pop & Jazz Conservatory which is next door to the arts block, which stretches the length of Hämeentie. It houses several different departments as well as a few galleries. In this video you can see the multi-coloured block in situ with the surrounding environment and judge for yourself how clever a design it actually is when you take all four Nordic seasons into account:
As a standalone construction, some might say the design is too much for the area it's in, but we've all grown to love it over the years since it was completed. The drone video also features my home should you care to come visit me some time. Which you won't. Which is fine. But when you see it nestling among the factory blocks and apartment blocks, it makes far more sense. As you can see. The neighbourhood is always spick and span, as are all the various satellite towns from Arabia out to the first (of three) ring-roads circling Helsinki city limits. Ours is next to the estuary of the river Vantaa which runs from way up north due south to Vanhakaupunki (the previous capital of Finland) and from which I collect driftwood from way up the country to craft my artisan ladders which I sell online and from a small gallery in Kallio. In fact, here's one for you to enjoy:
They aren't designed to be used as actual ladders (
though they can be) but instead are a current hot item in home styling and used to hang towels and so on from in both the bathroom/sauna and lounge areas. The woods are all birch from northern Finland and I collect them from the waterfall above the nearby estuary and dry them out in my lock-up before I go at them with a jigsaw to size them, and an angle grinder to stress the finished look. The one pictured is an example piece and not for sale. The ones I do sell go for a starter price of €185 per six/eight step ladder, or depending on the client's needs. I'm hoping to get an hotel up in Hämeenlinna to buy a couple of dozen of my artisan ladders for their leisure areas housing swimming, sauna, and gym facilities. If they order two dozen of them now it'll take at least a month to complete the whole order, but it'll buy me a nice winter holiday as well as some new toys for my studio.
Art is a way of life for me. Creating something out of nothing is a thing Finns love, and I find it highly amusing that I'm selling wood to Finnish people. Around 78% of Finland is forest, so it's kind of like selling sand to Arabs. Or Guinness to the Irish. The artisan ladders are very enjoyable to create and it's nice to have things to do with my hands on the sunnier days out on the balcony or down by the jetty. I use the traditional Finnish knife called a puukko to carve into the birch to age it after drying. It also gets smoked over an open fire (down by the estuary) to ensure no bugs are inside before they're sealed with a thin varnish. Then I tie the lats/steps with traditional baling twine.
So that's your Finnish lesson for today, James.
I hope you learned something and it'd be even nicer again if any of this inspires you to do something with your life.
Living as an artist isn't for everyone, and staying afloat in the current market is always difficult, but then I'm very well used to not having a weekly pay packet.
As the video shows, quality of life and pleasant surroundings blend together very nicely in this beautiful country which appreciates art and artists.
Clever and functional design, along with art, creativity, and attention to detail are all valued ideals up here: my work is in so many homes across Finland.
Ladders, paintings, murals, interiors, albums I've played on, and pupils from my art and music therapy classes will all remain long after I'm gone.
Such is the quest for any artist: to create things that will outlive us and remain part of everyday life long after we die.
