The first week of February, architecture and design are celebrated nationwide in Finland
Finnish Architecture and Design Days will be celebrated from 1 to 5 February 2023. The festival week, themed 'Quality of Living', together with the national flag-flying day on 3 February, will celebrate the importance of good design.
This year’s theme of the ArcDesign festival, 'Quality of Living', underlines the role of architecture and design in creating socially, environmentally and aesthetically pleasing environments to support our daily lives. Good design generates comfort, equality and a sense of belonging.
The ArcDesign 2023 programme consists of more than 50 discussions, workshops, exhibitions, guided tours, lectures and presentations all over Finland. The extensive programme also includes English-speaking events, such as a guided tour to architect Wivi Lönn’s masterpiece from the early 20th century, Ebeneser House in Helsinki, an architectural workshop for all ages organised in an Alvar Aalto-designed home in Ekenäs, and a seminar on social ecological cities organised in Helsinki.
See all ArcDesign events in English here.
On Friday 3 February, the 125th birthday of Finland's most renowned architect and designer Alvar Aalto, the Finnish flags will be hoisted, as the Ministry of the Interior again recommends a national flag-flying day for Alvar and Aino Aalto and Finnish architecture and design. The flag-flying day highlights the key role these industries have played in the creation of the Finnish wellfare state and the nation’s cultural identity.
The objective of Finnish Architecture and Design Days is to open our eyes to architecture and design as an important part of our everyday lives and to strengthen our sense of ownership and participation in our built and designed environment.
Read more about the Finnish Architecture and Design Days here.
Finnish Architecture and Design Days are organised by the eleven organisations who put forward the motion to establish the flag-flying day: Archinfo, Alvar Aalto Foundation, Museum of Finnish Architecture, Designmuseum, Ornamo, EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Association of Finnish Architects’ Offices ATL, Finnish Association of Architects SAFA, The Building Information Foundation RTS, Finnish Association of Landscape Architects MARK and Finnish Association of Interior Architects SIO. The festival is included in the programme of the European Heritage Days.
