‘Dining by Still Water’ by Joanna Laajisto for Helsinki Design Week.

Some of you may recall my recent story about the rise of Trees In Interiors. No? You totally need to revisit that shit right now. Today’s story, a beautiful temporary event space in Helsinki, serves as another example of this interesting trend meme in design and architecture.

This year, interior architect Joanna Laajisto was invited to design a private pop up dining space for the Helsinki Design Week. With Finnish luxury being one of the core focuses of the festival, Laajisto explored the idea of luxury in today’s society. After contemplating what luxury meant to her, Laajisto drew inspiration from her childhood memories spent at her family’s cottage by the lake in Finland’s countryside.

“I remember the pure, untouched nature and silence,” Laajisto says. “I thought about sitting on the dock on a late September evening and watching the ever changing colors of nature. The surface of the lake is absolutely still and almost looks like a mirror, but the best thing about this moment is the silence. You can hear yourself breathe. To me, that is the most beautiful thing – the ultimate luxury in today’s world.”

The dining space was located at the Old Customs Warehouse; an old, romantic building that dates back to 1901. With church like arches and brick walls, Laajisto wanted to keep the design very streamlined and minimal. “I wanted the space to be honest and straightforward, because that represents both the character of Finnish people and of Finnish design,” Joanna says.

A ten meter steel clad table was built to represent the surface of the still lake, complemented by 32 Alvar Aalto 66 chairs painted black. Brand new Lambada lamps by Finnish designer Samuli Naamanka created a peaceful rhythm above the table. What truly enhanced the presence of nature within the space was a willow tree, placed at the end of the table to filter the light from the windows.

Flooded with a unique amount of natural light, the space was enchanting at any time of the day. Thousands of people visited the carefully decorated space, with numerous private functions, such as breakfasts, lunches, dinners and seminars filling the tranquil room during the festival.

Helsinki Design Week

Helsinki Design Week is an annual city festival dedicated to design in all its forms. Held from 12th – 22nd September, this year’s offering saw a mixture of interior design, industrial design, fashion, communication design and music events fill the city.

Joanna Laajisto Creative Studio

Joanna Laajistp Creative Studio is a Helsinki based design agency that, in addition to product design, specializes in creating commercial interiors and brand identities for the retail and hospitality fields.

Joanna Laajisto, the founder of her namesake studio, is a Helsinki based interior architect and designer who believes in creating environments that will last more than a passing trend. Driven simultaneously by functionality and aesthetics, Laajisto’s philosophy is not to clutter the world with unnecessary things, but to find and enhance the hidden beauty of each space through creative solutions.

Related Post:  So Hot Right Now // Trees In Interiors.

[Images courtesy of Joanna Laajisto.]