VIP President

The VIP President space is located in a separate building connected to the Business Aviation Terminal, and it specifically serves state guests. The space was originally put into use in 1997. This spring, the surfaces of the space were updated and furniture was renovated. I was able to continue my collaboration with Finavia, and also design the update for this space, as a continuation of the previous VIP & Meetings space. Naturally, the starting point was to preserve as much of the original as possible, and to brighten it to meet today’s needs using domestic means.

In addition to the larger gathering space in the lobby, there are smaller meeting and lounge rooms. I wanted to bring a unique atmosphere to each, and soften the straight lines and hard materials of the architecture with textiles and earthy tones. It is always inspiring to find domestic options for each need. At the beginning of the design, I mentally named the spaces after the wives of former presidents, and tried to incorporate personality into each space. The space also allowed for the design of new furniture: the serving counters in the lobby space were made by the skilled Reko Hämäläinen from Rekonstruktio Oy. For these, I chose materials and colors from the surrounding surfaces. I also designed serving counters for the meeting rooms, which were made by Lepo Oy. In addition, in all spaces, some of the furniture was upholstered with the Ester fabric I designed for Annala Oy, for which I wanted a Finnish national birch bark basket feel, yet in an elegant and dignified form.

It felt like a great honor to be able to re-color such a valuable space, which only a few have the opportunity to visit.