A better world is built through creativity and cooperation

A better world is built through creativity and cooperation
- let's say no to open design competitions

Open design competitions in the field of architecture and art involve thousands of competition proposals, which use thousands of man-years of work.

Partanen & Lamusuo challenge the culture of competition and suggest using creative work for projects that improve collective well-being as an alternative.

"Architectural design and making art are creative work that can be used to help people feel better. We already made a strategic choice years ago: we only design projects that promote people's well-being, and we do not participate in open design competitions. As experience accumulates, we are increasingly convinced that this was the right decision. This is the direction we want to go towards", says the artist-architect couple Partanen & Lamusuo.

Partanen & Lamusuo's guiding principle is working for a better world and supporting well-being at all levels, whether it is a residential building, public space, work environment, or artwork. Empathy plays a central role in their design work. The artist-architect couple put themselves in the position of different people and think about what kind of environment meets their needs as well as possible and what kind of space is good to be in.

"We are in a service profession where an empathetic and appreciative conversation with the customer is the basis of the design work. Through a customer relationship based on empathy, we can create spaces that solve the customer's problem and make the world a better place. In competitions, an empathetic relationship with the customer is not formed, so we cannot do our work as well as we would like to", Partanen & Lamusuo reflect.

A better world through cooperation, not competition

In addition to the fact that the client remains distant in design competitions for architecture and art projects, they also waste a huge amount of time and resources for creative work. For example, in 2014, the architecture competition of the Guggenheim Helsinki Museum project was launched, in which 1715 entries participated.

If each architectural office spends about 1000 working hours to make a competition proposal, the 1715 proposals of the Guggenheim Helsinki Museum competition require 1,715,000 working hours, which corresponds to 907 person-years of work. In the end, the project was not realized, because the Guggenheim Helsinki Museum project was abandoned at the end of several rounds of proposals.

Thousands of proposals are expected for the Helsinki New Architecture and Design Museum's design competition, which started this year. The amount of work required by the design competition, which collects thousands of proposals, is enormous.

The amount of work does not necessarily produce tangible results, as was the case with the Guggenheim Helsinki Museum project. In this case, the time, resources, and creative work spent on the competition proposal were lost. If not a single competition proposal is implemented, the original problem, i.e. the need for a building or a work of art, remains unsolved. Often, the competition terms require the proposals to be kept confidential, so the competition proposals cannot be implemented or used in any other context.

"The competitive culture of the architecture industry can allow new architectural offices to show their skills and get on the surface, but at the same time, the creative work of many people is wasted. Instead of competing with each other, we should focus on cooperation and together build a world where everyone is happy", envisions Partanen & Lamusuo.

Creativity flourishes in a genuine customer relationship

In an empathetic customer relationship and cooperation, the customer's problem can be genuinely solved. When the customer can openly tell about their needs and wishes, the designer can offer creative solutions that the customer would not necessarily have thought of. Based on empathy, Partanen & Lamusuo design cozy homes, as well as public and semi-public spaces where it is comfortable to work, do business, and enjoy leisure time.

In addition to people, respect for nature and harmony with the surrounding world is important to them, so Partanen & Lamusuo take into account the building site and design an entity that is compatible with the environment and the surrounding nature.

"Creativity can be used not only in an empathetic customer relationship to improve their well-being but also without pretense. Cooperation could build a common good at home and in different parts of the world", Partanen & Lamusuo say.

Partanen & Lamusuo have designed many modular wooden buildings, such as daycare centers, assisted living units, and healthcare units. The advantage of modularity is the building's scalability and adaptation to different needs. Wooden buildings withstand time and use and are aesthetically attractive.

"It would be wonderful to use the buildings we have designed to promote the common good together with other operators. We dream of participating in the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war creating beautiful building stock that is also eco-friendly and sustainable." says the artist-architect couple Partanen & Lamusuo, who live in a residential area built after World War II by the frontline soldiers.

To promote peace and mutual understanding, Partanen & Lamusuo have come up with the PeaceBorderSauna concept. The idea of ​​saunas to be built on the borders, where a basis for mutual trust could be built in the sauna, came during the Finnish presidential election.

What role did President Alexander Stubb play in the birth of the idea of ​​the PeaceBorderSauna concept? Read more about the concept.