The Beetle – A Film by Henrik Håkansson

Today we saw the premiere of an astonishing film called The Beetle (Hylochares cruentatus) by Henrik Håkansson. The film focuses on halavasepikkä (Hylochares cruentatus), an endangered beetle that lives exclusively in Mätäoja river area in Vantaa, Finland. The film combines studio shots and on site scenery shots into an intriguing journey. The beautiful visuals are complemented by an immersive audio track and a spectacular music score by electronic music genius Mika Vainio. …Read More!

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Balcony Gardening Time!

Balcony Gardening Time!

The exceptional warmth in May has given a good kick-start for our balcony garden. Peas and chives are already well on their way to our dinner table. Unfortunately the strong early spring sunshine was too much for our balcony apple tree, but maybe we’ll plant a new one. We are yet to see how our carrots, peppers, corn, lemons, various herbs and local meadow plants will flourish but the start has been fantastic!

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Inspiration

Floating Islands in Copenhagen

Marshall Blecher and Magnus Maarbjerg are creating a archipelago of floating islands in Copenhagen, the Copenhagen Islands. The first one is CPH-Ø1, a wooden platform and a linden tree. Eventually the archipelago will grow to include floating swimming platforms, stages, parks and a floating garden. For winter, the islands can me moved closer together to form a larger recreational area. It will be really interesting to see how the islands evolve!

by  in Inspiration
Marshall Blecher and Magnus Maarbjerg are creating a archipelago of floating islands in Copenhagen, the Copenhagen Islands. The first one is CPH-Ø1, a wooden platform and a linden tree. Eventually the archipelago will grow to include floating swimming platforms, stages, parks and a floating garden. For winter, the islands can me moved closer together to form a larger recreational area. It will be really interesting to see how the islands evolve!
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Inspiration

BEEcosystem Observation Honeybee Hive

BEEcosystem is a modular observation honeybee hive you can easily install outdoors or indoors. This wonderful system lets you observe the honey bees at work, tending their babies. It would be really interesting to install one of these on our balcony and watch the buzz and bustle. It could also spice up the biosphere in your neighborhood by providing habitat for the important pollinators. Be sure to support BEEcosystem on Indiegogo!

by  in Inspiration
BEEcosystem is a modular observation honeybee hive you can easily install outdoors or indoors. This wonderful system lets you observe the honey bees at work, tending their babies. It would be really interesting to install one of these on our balcony and watch the buzz and bustle. It could also spice up the biosphere in your neighborhood by providing habitat for the important pollinators. Be sure to support BEEcosystem on Indiegogo!
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News, Photos

Bilberry Pad & Portable Farm Exhibition @ JHL

by  in News, Photos
An exhibition showcasing the Bilberry Pad and the Portable Farm projects is now open at JHL in Helsinki. Thanks to the generous supporters Kone Foundation, The Finnish Cultural Association, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, The Finnish Cultural Institute in New York, Messupuu and Piiraisen Viherpalvelu. And a big bow to everyone involved with the projects, we had a blast!
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Inspiration

Chameleon Building Changes Color With the Seasons

by  in Inspiration
This apartment building in Helsinki beautifully changes color with the seasons, thanks to the virginia creeper plant that grows on the south facade. In the summer the building is covered with lush green leaves and in the fall the color changes to screaming red. In the winter the actual beige facade shows through since the leaves have fallen off. This colourful play affects the atmosphere of the whole area in a properly biophilic manner!
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Inspiration

Asphalt Jungles – A dive into urban nature

The excellent documentary series Asfalttiviidakot (Asphalt Jungles) by the director Petteri Saario & DocArt are now available as a free stream at Yle Areena (Finnish only). Be sure to watch all episodes as they all have different perspectives to urban nature!

by  in Inspiration
Asfalttiviidakot
The excellent documentary series Asfalttiviidakot (Asphalt Jungles) by the director Petteri Saario & DocArt are now available as a free stream at Yle Areena (Finnish only). Be sure to watch all episodes as they all have different perspectives to urban nature! ”We drink killed water and eat killed food, we breath urban killed air and we touch killed asphalt and concrete.” – Tari Haahtela, award winning allergy researched, professor emeritus
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Nature Cots

Gone Fishing – Urban Archipelago Retreat

by  in Nature Cots
Gone Fishing is a portable archipelago retreat where you can enjoy solitude and aquatic nature in an urban environment. You can sit on the pier, dip your feet in the water and play a mixed reality fishing game. When you put on the provided glasses, the infinity pool style pond changes into an immersive archipelago view. With the fishing game you can catch virtual fish and learn about the local aquatic flora and fauna. When…
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Inspiration

Artificial Microclimates – Zaryadye Park by DS+R

The DillerScofidio+Renfro design for the new Zaryadye Park in Moscow aims to bring tundra, forest, steppe and wetlands to the city. This is done by creating artificial microclimates for each landscape topology. Wind, temperature and daylight are regulated in order to create zones for these microclimates. …Read More!

by  in Inspiration
The Diller Scofidio + Renfro design for the new Zaryadye Park in Moscow aims to bring tundra, forest, steppe and wetlands to the city. This is done by creating artificial microclimates for each landscape topology. Wind, temperature and daylight are regulated in order to create zones for these microclimates. The designers also talk about ”wild urbanism” which aims to create a ”raw interface between buildings and landscape”. The park has a paving system that gradually…
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Inspiration

Moving Indoors

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The fall has arrived here in Finland and the outdoor growing season is almost over. Now it’s a good time to start new experiments with indoor plants. We built a small glass jar moss terrarium by collecting a couple of small moss patches. We also placed a Tillandsia epiphyte in another small jar, no soil needed. It will be interesting to see if and how these will survive through the winter.
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Inspiration, Photos

The Green Train – The Turntable by Dodo

by  in Inspiration, Photos
The environmental organization Dodo has built an interesting urban farming laboratory called Turntable on top of an old train turntable in Pasila, Helsinki. The Turntable has a greenhouse, an urban farm, a cafe and even a bouldering wall. The Turntable hosts all sorts of open events from urban farming workshops to punk concerts. Places like this really make cities worth living in. Let’s hope the city is clever enough to not destroy it when central…
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Inspiration, Photos

Hiding Behind the Leaves – The Growroom

by  in Inspiration, Photos
At this year’s Helsinki Design Week we stumbled into this mesmerizingly green urban hideaway. The Growroom is designed by SPACE 10 and architects Sine Lindholm and Mads-Ulrik Husum. The structure of the Growroom consists of 17 sheets of plywood that are CNC-cut to form and connected by wood joints and metal screws. On top of this wooden structure you can start your urban farm. The Growroom can also be used as an urban meeting place. And…