Eero Saarinen
Finland

With the Shiroiya Hotel, Sou Fujimoto Architects have succeeded in producing a fascinating combination of an old building and a conversion, design, architecture and art. Michele de Lucchi, Jasper Morrison, Leandro Erlich and Sou Fujimoto have each designed one of the rooms.

When she died, the world lost a pioneer of Modernist furniture, one whose carefully designed rooms fired the imagination of a post-War global community who felt united in its aesthetic sensibilities. Just how fragile the foundations of this community were is something that we are experiencing today. Along with the importance of the example she set us.

How did Eero Saarinen’s TWA Terminal in New York come about? Why is Friedrich Kiesler’s vision of an “Endless House” still so topical? And what does Kodak City Rochester look like? The following books provide the answers.

The “Helsinki Design Week” took place for the 10th time this year. For all those who may have forgotten what makes Finnish design so special – the trade fair complex and Helsinki’s Design District provided a lot to bring things back to mind.

Soon it’ll be book fair time again in Frankfurt. And as always, the fair’s Guest of Honor country gets to shape the face of culture in the city for a short time. So what does Finland have to offer in addition to vodka and forests, sauna and Saarinen, Artek and Aalto?