Architecture Corner

A few things to cover this time out, and a bit long so I'll split into 3 posts below this one:

• Betonipäivää: Dipoli; Hämeenlinän arkisto; marte.marte
• Europan 10, in which we don't win
• Uusi seikkailu, or what have I been doing instead of writing blogs?

Uusi seikkailu

© 2010 Arkkitehdas

If you looked at the link in previous post about Europan, or received one of our cards, you'll already know what this is about.

A combination of being unemployed (with few jobs around), not qualifying for benefits, and being asked to design some friends house extension has conspired to encourage me to become an yrittäjä ('entrepreneur' - a horrible term which makes me think of Alan Sugar) and register a toiminimi (trade name, sole trader, business) for an arkkitehti- suunitellatoimisto (architect and design studio) which has thrown me into the world of business plans, starttiraha (startup grants), YEL (self employed social insurance - like NI in UK), vastuuvakuutus (indemnity insurance), contracts, professional competence registers,kirjanpitominen (book keeping), ALV (VAT), domain hosting and more. Which is fun enough in English let alone Finnish. Luckily I have some help in deciphering it all... (kiitos kulta Konnalle).

More fun was choosing a name and designing the logo, graphics and website, which of course are the most essential parts of the whole enterprise. (What do you mean getting clients and making a profit?)

If you want to know why Arkkitehdas - have a look at the link.

I also thought of a few others, most of which either are too similar to existing names, or Konna just gave me one of those looks and I quickly discarded:

• Luovia (to tack or zig-zag - but already an IT company or something)
• Navetta (barn, which is a bit agricultural when you live in Helsinki)
• Vintti/Ullako (attic, hmm, like atelier except like suomeksi)
• ArKäDa (too similar to Arkkada)
• dk studio (er, Calvin Kline?)
• jkmd (which is a bit too close to JKMM)
• m.ARK (which is just sad)
• JaM (we could send out free jars of jam with our name on them... NEXT!)

The 'grand plan' is to hassle remind all those people who've said - 'one day we'll get you guy's to design our house'; to do some of the Finnish open design competitions (hopefully better than Europan); to try to get some sub-contracting work with other architects here and perhaps UK. And maybe do a little graphic design work on the side, based on the response to our christmas cards and launch cards... my second commission (of a huge total of two) is to design some invites...

Anyway, back to the realities of small business. What with investment in a new computer, YEL, PII and accountant's fees for the year I've already spent the income from my first commissions before I've even started...

Anybody need something architecting?

Are we here yet?

Kurpitsat! From Winter 2009 - Helsinki & around.

In case you were wondering we didn't turn into pumpkins, but did actually come back to Helsinki. So what's been happening to Emmdee and Konna?

• A fancy dress party where we went as teenagers c. 1987 (for me think black jeans, sister's of mercy T-shirt, studded belt...; for Konna think language student - complete with EF rucksack)
• A week dog/house sitting (good weather for walkies in the central park - where Konna had never been!)
• Mennimme Linnänmäkiin - katso valot karne kuvista (see Linnänmaki Carnival of lights pictures on Picasa) - the lazer show was crap though...
• Five (more) boxes of stuff arrived from UK: we now have more clothes, a TV, DVD/home cinema, and A3 printer again after a year! Hurrah! (But where the heck do we put it all?)
• DVD player and printer aren't working! Boo! Where's that insurance claim form...?
• Konna is working for a small but successful and critically acclaimed practice doing very interesting buildings (down to the doorknobs) ... can't say any more than that
• We (or I as Konna is working full time now) may have some small projects coming... the big problem is of course what to call the company if we do
• Menin hämmäsläkkärille / suunhygenistille, ja nyt minun hampaat ovat (melkein) valkoinen... ja hän sanoi minulle - sinä puhu hyvin suomea jos olet assunut suomessa vain yhden vuoden (!) Well who says Finns aren't polite?
• 'Somebody' lost that dentist bill - cue comedy misunderstanding of spelling of my name on telephone: dee ... day - pay?, DEE - bee?; DAY - ...? Voisinko lähetää sinulle sähköposti..?
• First sauna for six weeks (I even started to miss it)
• First cycle ride for six weeks (since the biggie); 75km Porvooseen ja takaisin - was so damp and cold that on the way back had to stop at a bus stop to take of my shoes and socks to warm my frozen numb feet; notes to self: a) dress warmly when it's 5°C; b) after six weeks 75km is too far...
• A video of my TdH triumph is on Strands here; and my Strands page is here (a sort of Facebook/training log for running/cycling)
• We may have blinked and missed autumn... it snowed today...

Kautta aikojen? Thru times?

When you compare the cakes you have eaten at your own leaving parties - Can you rank them in any kind of order? Does the taste depend on 1) time spent at the office 2) people you are sharing it with 3) country you are eating it in 4) future plans you may have 5) your mood that particular day 6) possibility of you going back to the same office one day 7) the amount of wine or type of wine/coffee/tea consumed with 'kakku' 7) type (& nicety level) work you did during your stay 8) friends you made 9) salary you had 10) or is it always as good as the previous time you were heading towards new chalenges in your life?

Who knows, but my Friday kakku was good :)

Kiitos!

Red tape and icicles

From Around Helsinki Winter 08/09

This week is the Finnish skiing holiday - and apparently as we are having a 'good' winter (i.e snow on the ground) the sports shops have all sold out of their 'sale' skis. Even though there has not been a lot of snow fall in the last few weeks (in fact it even rained once) there has been white all around for at least a month now, and in the bright sunshine and clear skies of today it is quite lovely.  There are also lots of icicles hanging from gutters and eaves, although they tend to be quite hard to photograph (had to stand in the middle of a street to get this...)

I can now tick off another couple of things from my list of Finnish 'bureaucracy' that needed doing (maybe I should say 'official existence'), although I hope the latter is only temporary:

• I now (finally) am part of Kela (so have access to various social security and health care things)'
  
• I am officially registered unemployed (although fat lot of good that is as I don't seem to qualify for any benefits).

This is the first time I've ever been officially unemployed in the 20 years since I left school. Even in the last recession when I was on my 'year out' between degree and diploma in Brighton, and there was very little work around, I managed to find a few architectural things to do, making models and helping tutors with competitions mainly (and drawing layouts for caravan parks now I come to think of it!).  Mind you I also worked for a temp agency, which meant things like cleaning wards and toilets at a mental hospital; clearing tables and washing dishes at a department store restaurant; stewarding at football matches; moving office furniture etc. People were generally quite surprised to hear I had a degree in architecture.

I wonder what qualifications you need for clearing snow?

What to blog?

Minus Thirty! From Lapland - Winter 08/09

No, I didn't throw myself down the stairs (or go skiing) and end up in hospital for two weeks.  I was more serious about wanting to write amusing and interesting posts, but since I can't think of any it will have to be the usual rubbish...

We have also been busy post holiday: we have moved (temporarily), I've worked on portfolio, been to Europan 10 launch, started new Finnish course, applied for a job and had an interview (don't think I'll get it though).

Lappi was fun, although quite expensive.  Apart from getting to see my Mum and sister, my lasting memories will probably be seeing -32°C on the thermometer (and going out in -30°C to experience what happens when your nose hairs freeze..., walking across a lake, husky sledging, and meeting woolly hungarian pigs (Konna's favourite I believe). No northern lights though, so will have to try again sometime.

The whole thing was quite an adventure for my Mum, although she claims the most worrying experience thing wasn't artic temperatures, galloping reindeer, sauna habits or Kittilä airport's snowy runway.  No, it was me, driving in Helsinki in falling snow, and with 10cm on the ground. Thanks Mum! (Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned I'd never driven in the snow before setting off... hmmm.) 

Architectural tours

To 'celebrate' my first day at work I thought I'll post some of the images from two architectural tours we did during my days of freedom. These tours were organised by Rakennustaiteenmuseo.

Both of the buildings are very different in nature - one is a new build residential building complex carrying the names of Svingi and Stanssi, the other is a 1957 Helsinki University building Porthania by architect Aarne Ervi (worked in Aalto's office at one point in his career) that has seen major renovation works - both are in the centre of Helsinki (Katajanokka and Kaisaniemi/Kluuvi), and both projects have something in common; Works have been done by the same architects - Arkkitehdit NRT Oy.

 

Svingi & Stanssi tour in wet Helsinki on 27 August 2008 (see the big ship behind the 'cheesy' gateway to the site)

    

Some elements of the Porthania renovations tour on 17 September 2008 included architect Aarne Ervi's staircase and suspended auditorium roof structure, but not his great roof lights (for cost saving reasons I guess) - the great view from the Helsinki University owned flats (for visiting lecturers - interested?) stayed untouched... I would not mind living there either...

Wa-Lah!

via swissmiss and coudal

I feel like an 'Instant Architect' now... just got a phone call and have a job... starting tomorrow!

Wish me luck in the jungle of Finnish building regs and in this case perhaps also with the Russian regulations and customs! ;D