Take a tram to Pihlajamäki

A Place with a View exhibition at Sederholm House gives visitors a glimpse of the homes of Pihlajamäki residents and suburban life in Helsinki. The exhibition is a part of the Helsinki World Design Capital programme.

Suburban life is something many Finns are familiar with. From the mid-1950s to the late 1970s, Finland saw the construction of hundreds of thousands of homes in new residential areas outside city centres. 

People were keen to leave their cramped and worn-down city flats for clean, well-lit and warm suburban homes with all modern comforts. The rise of the suburbs played a key role in Finland’s urbanisation and modernisation.

Pihlajamäki was built in the early 1960s. It was one of the first suburbs designed as a whole and built using the new prefabrication technology. 

While the architecturally important area is protected in the town plan and has been appointed a nationally significant cultural environment, it is also an example of an area that has been closely associated with a discussion about suburbs with negative undertones. 

A Place with a View – Recollections of Pihlajamäki is a photography exhibition showcasing another perspective, that of local residents. 

The exhibition at Sederholm House provides visitors with access to places usually off-limits to outsiders: the homes of ordinary people, behind modern façades. This means that you can now take a tram to the suburb.

The Place with a View exhibition is based on the book by the same name, a compilation of interviews by Kristiina Markkanen and photographs by Lidia Tirri that was published by the City Museum in January. 

In their book, Markkanen and Tirri wanted to find out what the residents of Pihlajamäki thought about their neighbourhood, which has aroused a lot of discussion. 

The photographs in the book and exhibition lead to spacious and well-lit homes where people obviously enjoy living, and the residents’ interviews open up a new perspective on architecture and urban planning. 

On the opening day of the exhibition, 12 May 2012, the book will be available at Sederholm House for the special price of €15 (normal price €28).

The exhibition is a part of the Helsinki World Design Capital programme.

A Place with a View – Recollections of Pihlajamäki
 
In Sederholm House, Aleksanterinkatu 18 
12.5.–26.8.2012 
Wed–Sun 11–17, Thu 11–19
 

FREE ENTRY