Helsinki Design Award goes to Päivi Raivio

A joint award by the City of Helsinki and Helsinki Design Week recognized designer Päivi Raivio as the winner of the 2022 Helsinki Design Award for her contribution to make Helsinki a better place to live in, said the city in a press release on Thursday.

During her career, Päivi Raivio has dedicated her work to creating better public spaces.

The award was presented by Mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen on Thursday.

Together with the citizens and various communities, Raivio has made the city squares more vibrant and the daycare yards more green as well as conducted versatile urban space experiments, not only in Helsinki but in Espoo and Lahti, among other places.

The objective of the Helsinki Design Award jury was not only to survey successful products and services but also to recognize how important processes are in producing better everyday solutions for the citizens.

“Experimentation culture can put major changes in motion if designers manage to combine ideas with correct timing. In this respect, Raivio’s work represents great potential,” said Chairman of the Jury, Helsinki Design Week Founder and Director Kari Korkman.

“Päivi Raivio has participated in urban development in the long haul, shaping not only the city space around us, but above all the methods and processes of development. I am happy to give this year’s Helsinki Design Award to an established specialist in citizen-driven design,” said Chief Design Officer of the City of Helsinki Hanna Harris.

“For Helsinki, design is a way to renew the city, and we are keen to strengthen our profile as a design city. We work in close cooperation with design companies and designers, and the Helsinki Design Award is a great opportunity to highlight and thank our important partners in urban development,” said Mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen.

This year’s Helsinki Design Award jury consisted of City of Helsinki’s Design Director Hanna Harris, Urban Tech Helsinki’s Taina Seitsara and Kalle Toivonen, founder of the creative agency Måndag Arto Sivonen, and Pentagon Design’s Virva Haltsonen.