During her Instagram takeover, Päivi Raivio guided us through the places, stories, and events that make Helsinki vibrant, engaging, and full of character. We visited her favorite spots, explored the city’s unique rocky landscape, and highlighted inspiring placemaking initiatives through mini-interviews. The takeover also included a look at a recently completed winter placemaking project in Meri-Rastila, where seasonal lights and thoughtful intervention transformed the public space into a warmer, more welcoming place for the community.
The Instagram takeover was a fun opportunity for me to explore my home city and think about how I’d like to share it with others. From small details, like handprints in handmade bricks from the 1920s, to the city’s rocks — since Helsinki is built on bedrock — each element shapes public spaces. The rocks create great gathering spots in summer, sledding hills in winter, and give the city a unique visual character as they emerge throughout the urban landscape. Since my takeover, we’ve had snow, and now we are sledding on the rocks again!
In the summer, rocks are for gathering, sun bathing and enjoying the endless nights. Helsinki City Museum, Risto Vaissi, 2023
In the winter, rocks turn into spots for winter activities and timeless fun. Helsinki City Museum, Eino Heinonen, 1959.
One of my favorite public spaces, which we visited during the takeover, is Lasipalatsi Square. Its white hills and bumps, part of the underground Amos Rex Art Museum designed by architect Asmo Jaaksi, reflect Helsinki’s rocky landscape. The square has a playful and adventurous identity, offering opportunities for climbing, posing, relaxing, skateboarding—and I’ve even seen snowboarding in winter. The city center would feel very different without this square and the building. Through projects I’ve been involved in on the square, I’ve also explored its dynamics and social nature. If you enjoy people-watching, this is a perfect spot!
The “hills” of Lasipalatsi (Glass Palace) Square and Amos Rex Art Museum attract play, stay and adventurous activities. They also remind me of the rocks and hills of Helsinki. Photo: Päivi Raivio
One day of the takeover introduced our studio, which houses RaivioBumann, Parkly, and SpinUnit under the same roof. Our bookshelves feature a rich selection of urban design books, and I highlighted a few favorites. The most recent addition is Concentrico: Urban Innovation Laboratory, which explores how the city of Logroño has been transformed into a living urban experiment through design and architecture interventions. Residents actively participate in creating, using, and maintaining these installations. For instance, the hundred pieces of sittable furniture we created for the 2024 edition remain in the square, adding play and flexible seating.
Playful seating transformed the square outside the Biblioteca Rafael Azcona. Photo: Sara Cuerdo
Seating was a major focus during the takeover, and it’s one of my favorite topics. Simple acts of providing seating can have a huge social impact: they shape the dynamics of a place and even influence the culture of a space. In Bern, thousands of movable chairs make the city more adaptable, social, and fun. Feedback from our modular seating projects often mentions that “people talk to each other more.” In a mini-interview with landscape architect Niilo Tenkanen, who experimented with movable chairs at Aalto Campus, one participant said, “I feel trusted.”
In Bern, movable chairs turn parks, streets, and squares into dynamic, living spaces, where people shape the city around them — moving, gathering, and socializing as they please. Photo: Päivi Raivio
Winter has a significant impact on public spaces in Helsinki, but the city is increasingly creative with seasonal placemaking. I visited the Kortteli Art event, which brings art installations into historical shop windows, staircases, and building interiors in the city center. Torikorttelit producer Sonja Immonen highlighted how the event complements the traditional Christmas market, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors.
In Meri-Rastila, where we are running a winter placemaking project, we visited a related event to gather feedback, ideas, and even warm drink recipes from different cultures. In this eastern Helsinki district, ongoing suburban regeneration projects intersect with Merirasti, a cultural and community space that often serves as an “anchor” point for residents. As coordinator Max Bremer noted, people have started to make the space their own, and fortunately due to the persistent work for community activation, future plans have secured a role for this cultural space.
Cold, dark — and sometimes snowless — winter days can feel long, but seasonal lights always enhance a place, bringing warmth, atmosphere, and visual impact. Photo: RaivioBumann/Vesa Laitinen
Taiwanese Milk Tea was a hit also among the children who enjoyed the warm drinks while waiting for the youth house to open. Photo: Päivi Raivio
In December, we completed the winter placemaking project with a light installation and opened it at a small event serving Taiwanese milk tea and ginger-honey tea. The installation brightens an otherwise dark square and adds more comfortable seating, covering the cold stone with wood. It draws inspiration from the sea and nordic winter scenery. The feedback has been very positive. One resident shared, “It’s the first time in my 25 years living here that we have seasonal lights.” Moments like this show just how much welcoming winter spaces can transform a neighborhood — bringing a stronger sense of place, boosting community identity, and even making people feel safer in different kinds of public spaces.
