Attraction of the Month

The famous Paimio chair.

Attraction of the Month, Finland Paimo – a breath of fresh air in the Finnish forest

Finland has long been known as a leader in modernist architecture and design. However, there is an oft-overlooked jewel in the crown: Alvar Aalto’s Paimio Sanatorium.

By Philip Denvir | Photos: Paimio Sanatorium

Tucked away in the countryside, near the city of Turku in south-western Finland, this historic facility is growing a new lease on life. Founded 90 years ago, Paimio Sanitarium was designed by Alvar and Aino Aalto as a tuberculosis treatment hospital. The pair designed the building, interiors and even furniture as ‘medicinal instruments’, in order to promote the wellbeing of its residents and the staff.

From the soothing colour schemes of shades of cerulean, to soundless wash basins that disturb no one, and the sundecks overlooking the forests to give light and air, every element is designed to express tranquility. However, the only widely-known piece is the iconic Paimio chair, still reproduced today by the internationally renowned Finnish-based design company Artek.

Mirkku Kullberg, chair of the Alvar Aalto Foundations explains: “I first saw the Paimio Sanatorium in 2005. It was a physical experience. It had an emotional impact: the dimensions, the colours, the feeling – it really felt like a medicinal instrument.”

“Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino designed a sanctuary for those suffering. Rooms were designed for comfort and peace and the building had space for sunbathing and forest bathing. The staff were also catered for so that the vast building felt ‘cosy’,” she continues.

Future-proofing The Paimio Foundation intends to celebrate the past while embracing the future. The Sanitorium already offers self-contained suites in the former staff quarters, faithfully furnished by the Artek design company, and a restaurant featuring Finnish cuisine. In addition, it offers tours and regular exhibitions.

There are plans afoot for 2023 for a wellness organisation and conference centre. This foundation would bring together internationally recognised architects, designers and healthcare professionals, as well as the local, Finnish and international communities. The ethos of the Paimio Foundation is to promote Aalto’s vision of wellness through architecture and considered design. “We have a duty to understand and save this kind of iconic architecture and promote its legacy, so that it continues as a living thing.”

“When architecture fulfills the role of a shelter, when a huge building like Paimio Sanitorium still feels like it is a shelter, protecting you and reaching out to help you – that is good architecture and design,” asserts Kullberg.

The sundeck at the Sanatorium.

www.paimiosanatorium.com Instagram: @paimiosanatorium Facebook: paimiosanatorium

Danish Architecture Center in BLOX. Photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj

Our Architecture: Iconic Danish design for all

A right for all, not a privilege for the few: that is the foundation that has shaped the history of Danish architecture. In its autumn exhibition Our Architecture, the Danish Architecture Center (DAC) is showcasing this story through the lens of star architect Vilhelm Lauritzen, and his most iconic buildings of the last 100 years. Lauritzen’s timeless designs have become part of the cultural heritage of Denmark –institutions that have borne witness to a society in a state of change.

Opening on 18 November, the exhibition unwraps the story of a quiet giant of modern design, who always insisted on a democratic approach to architecture.

By exploring Lauritzen’s defining projects like Copenhagen Airport, for which he designed the first terminal in the late 1930s, and the iconic Danish Radio House, the exhibition will set the scene for a tour de force of his architectural masterpieces and the lives lived within their walls.

Interactive installations will allow visitors to explore the architecture using new In 2023, Copenhagen will be named UNESCO World Capital of Architecture, during which the Danish Architecture Center will offer a wide range of activities and exhibitions. Landmark venues and other historic buildings usually closed to the public will be opened for visitors during the Open House Copenhagen event. Plus, don´t miss the summer exhibition

technology. Here, you can experience his designs with all your senses, and discover first-hand the impact that well-executed architecture has on the way we work, travel, learn and live.

When visiting the Danish Architecture Center in Copenhagen, be sure to explore the many architectural gems and contemporary projects in the city. Every week, the Danish Architecture Center organises guided walking, boat and bicycle tours to the city’s historic gems and modern masterpieces, designed by architects like Bjarke Ingels, Henning Larsen and Lundgaard & Tranberg.

Spillestedet VEGA. Photo: Betina Garcia, Ritzau Scanpix

The Vilhelm Lauritzen terminal in Copenhagen Airport from 1939. Today it is closed for air traffic, but it used to receive heads-of-state and other VIP travellers. Photo: Rune Buch

Copenhagen in Common, where the Danish Architecture Center will celebrate all the Copenhagen architecture we share.

www.dac.dk

About Danish Architecture Center (DAC):

The Danish Architecture Center is an international cultural attraction for anyone who wants to experience and understand how architecture and design create the framework for our lives. DAC is based in the heart of Copenhagen, by the inner harbour, in the spectacular building BLOX. Our Architecture: 18 November 2022 - 9 April 2023 Copenhagen in Common: 4 May - 22 October 2023 Open house: 25 - 26 March 2023 Danish Architecture Center (DAC) Bryghuspladsen 10 1473 Copenhagen Opening hours: 10am to 6pm daily, Thursdays until 9pm

The Radio House by Vilhelm Lauritzen from 1945. The building used to house The Danish Broadcasting Coorporation and is today home to The Royal Danish Academy of Music. Photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj

LIFE Campus, Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects, 2021. A national children’s leaning centre for natural sciences. The architcture references to DNA and Fibonacci numbers. Photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj

Tina Hee when inspiration settles. Peace not war. Reunion and on new adventures 2022.

Tina Hee: The DNA of a Danish artist

The work of an artist is often born out of the struggles in their life – experiences that can bring a quality of authenticity to the creation of art. Certainly, this is the case for Tina Hee.

By Karin Blak | Photos: Suezanna Zenani

As a child, Tina wanted to be a nurse. She had a strict upbringing, however, and her father instead arranged for her to take an apprenticeship in marketing. Although this provided Tina with a successful career, she didn’t feel right in these roles.

The pivotal moment Inspired by her son’s teacher, she attended an art class and, with newly awakened energy, she enrolled in a fourmonth art course. This was the pivotal moment when she discovered the sense of belonging she had been missing.

“Challenges make me stronger,” she says, describing the hardship she went through during her early 40s. Therapy and painting were the tools she used to find peace inside.

An intuitive journey Tina describes her art as an intuitive journey. “I use symbols of life’s experiences: the crooked stairs reflect the hard times, the eye mirrors the soul, and the bird gives a panoramic view and a sense of freedom.”

Working like a CoBrA-artist, her art is often humorous. While very personal, the paintings have a special energy and happiness that lifts the viewer, is said to be typically ‘Hee-esque’, and is appreciated by both private and business clients.

Tina’s DNA Like a string of DNA, her need to help others runs through her life. When she encountered her first student with mental health issues, the feedback she received was that painting with Tina was medicine for the student’s buzzing brain. Tina now teaches groups at the mental health charity Sind, and says “there is no right or wrong in painting, there is just a safe space for creativity to happen.”

Tina’s travelling companion The creation of the bronze statue of a man with a top hat on a bike was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Travelling Companion. When she told the story to a man she met, he responded: “that sounds just like my grandad, his name was Johannes”. So, the statue was named Johannes. It became Tina’s logo and travelling companion, just as she is the travelling companion to those she helps.

Like the fairytales written by H.C. Andersen, a man she identifies with, Tina’s life has reached a happy destination and she hopes to help others achieve the same.

www.tinahee.com Instagram: @tinahee_art Facebook: ateliertinahee LinkedIn: tinahee

Visit Tina’s atelier Atelier Tina Hee Lyngby Hovedgade 1 2800 Lyngby - Danmark

Johannes the travelling companion.

November’s new Scandi music releases

By Karl Batterbee

“Hey there Madonna…Won’t you be my Mama?” trills Denmark’s biggest popstar right now, Drew Sycamore. She’s named her new single Madonna after the all-time Queen of Pop, and dedicated to her a suitably banging bit of disco-house with a bouncy pop chorus. This pairs perfectly with Drew’s previous release, Electric Motion - if you’ve yet to check it out.

She went independent, and ended up making her best album to date. Sweden’s Tove Lo is back with her fifth album, Dirt Femme – her first to be released on her own label. It’s that rarity of an album that we all hope to experience from our favourite artists – where you can press play, and never have to go anywhere near the skip button. Each track is essential, pulling you back and forth between disco decadence and disco damage. It’s a ride – one to keep getting back up on – and a real contender for Album of the Year.

She co-wrote the song with him for his latest album, Playlist, and now Nea has gone and jumped on a new recording of Dance For Me, turning it into a duet for Benjamin Ingrosso’s brand-new single. It’s been gifted a whole new production too, pairing the ABBA-esque melodies with an even more dancefloor-friendly backdrop.

Hailing from Aarhus in Denmark, duo ROYA consists of songwriter and singer Line Gade and producer Sebastian Igens. Kinda Sad is their new single - their third release to date - and it kinda slaps, in that low-key electronica way that dazzles you into action. In this case, it inspires you to get yourself out of the sads, and to just get over it in general. Finally, another new artist from Denmark. Flavio has cast his net as far back as the ’80s, to find inspiration for his second single, Aiming On You. It’s a beat-heavy, synth-soaked uplifter that plays out like it’s taken from a pivotal scene in a film from the same iconic era.

www.scandipop.co.uk

Monthly Illustration Fitting in

Fitting in as a Swedish teenager in England was difficult. I was shy and awkward. My hobbies (listening to difficult techno on my Walkman) didn’t match the other girls’ hobbies (listening to Take That loudly from the back of the school bus) I had no idea how to dress, or act, or talk.

The first small breakthrough came when the TV programme The X-Files first launched in the UK. Suddenly, there were a few of us who would get together before English Lit once a week to discuss the gruesome plot of the previous night’s episode with genuine enthusiasm. Then came a discovery that would elevate me from my place of frumpy geek into the coveted position of (almost) Normal Girl.

Enter the Wonderbra. This magic garment did more for my self-esteem than eight GCSEs in a foreign language. I wore the wrong size, fitted wrong, with the little cushions escaping all over the place. But it didn’t matter. I felt wonderful. Suspecting that I was onto a good thing, I then made a further discovery. In my local shopping centre, there was a shop just for bras. This was a bright, welcoming place, where the shop assistants treated our The X-Files clique like we were all Normal Girls.

So, we bought bras. Usually in the wrong size, pretty much exclusively on sale, and never with the matching knickers. These precious garments were wrapped in lovely tissue paper, placed inside paper bags, and scattered with scented beads. This wasn’t just a newfound luxury. It was a rose-scented step towards adulthood. And I felt like I finally fitted in. It still took until the mid-00s for me to realise my real bra size. But by this point I was moving on to seamless bralettes anyway. Because real and lasting friendships don’t chafe.

By Maria Smedstad

Maria Smedstad moved to the UK from Sweden in 1994. She received a degree in Illustration in 2001, before settling in the capital as a freelance cartoonist, creating the autobiographical cartoon Em. Maria writes a column on the trials and tribulations of life as a Swede in the UK.

Scandinavian Culture Calendar

–Where to go, what to see? It’s all happening here!

By Hanna Heiskanen

Thomas Houseago – WE with Nick Cave & Brad Pitt (until 15 January 2023) Did you know that Nick Cave and Brad Pitt are besties – and visual artists? Neither did we, but a surprise joint exhibition at Sara Hildén Art Museum in Tampere provides an opportunity to assess the two men’s skills in ceramic and sculpture, respectively. The works are exhibited as part of a collective of which UK-born Thomas Houseago, who sculpts and paints, is also a member. Undoubtedly the most talked about art event in the Nordics this autumn. Särkänniemi, Tampere www.sarahildenintaidemuseo.fi

CircOpera 2.0 (25 November to 7 January 2023) Combine circus with opera, and add a good dose of modern technology and the world’s first singing avatar. This, and much more, can be experienced on the Finnish National Opera stage over the darkest winter months. If you can’t make it to Helsinki, a performance will be broadcast on the Opera’s website on 20 December. Helsinginkatu 58, Helsinki www.oopperabaletti.fi

Brunch and ballet (select dates from 5 November until 23 May 2023) Even if you don’t know anything about ballet, a professional group’s daily rehearsal at the barre is a fascinating

sight. Not many companies offer this level of access to the general public, but at the Danish Royal Opera you can spend a relaxing Saturday morning with a cup of coffee and a pastry in hand, watching the dancers do their thing on stage, with their pirouettes and plies. August Bournonvilles Passage 8, Copenhagen www.kglteater.dk

Haus-Rucker-Co: Giant Billiard (until 16 April 2023) Copenhagen is known for its several world-class contemporary art museums, and one of them is ARKEN, located 25 minutes by train from the centre, which is hosting an exhibition by the

Giant Billiard at ARKEN. Photo: Frida Gregersen

Brunch and ballet is a great way to start your weekend. Photo: Miklos Szabo

Meanwhile in Ukraine. Photo: Olena Shovkoplias

1960s collective Haus-Rucker-Co. In Giant Billiard, museum goers (120cm or taller, we should add), become a part of the exhibition as players of the humongous ‘billiard balls’. Skovvej 100, 2635 Ishøj www.uk.arken.dk

Films from the South Festival (12 to 20 November) Films from the South is Oslo’s biggest film festival and aims to expand visitors’ cinematic perspectives beyond western films. One of this year’s films to watch is Korean Broker, whose star Sang Kangho won best actor at the Cannes Film Festival in the summer. Venues around Oslo www.filmfrasor.no

Meanwhile in Ukraine (until 30 November) The attack by Russia on Ukraine has prompted a strong reaction from the art world, too. Ukrainian photographer Olena Shovkoplias started to document life in Kyiv mere days after the war began and, in a collaboration by its Ukrainian sister museum, the National Swedish Museums of Military History is now putting up her moving images. Grouped under six themes, they highlight the suffering of ordinary people in conflict. Free entry. Riddargatan 13, Stockholm www.sfhm.se

Meanwhile in Ukraine. Photo: Olena Shovkoplias

The Danish Royal Opera House. Photo: Camilla Winter

Scan Magazine Issue 148 November 2022

Published 11.2022 ISSN 1757-9589

Published by Scan Client Publishing

Print H2 Print

Executive Editor Thomas Winther

Creative Director Mads E. Petersen

Editor Lena Hunter

Copy-editor Karl Batterbee Graphic Designer Mercedes Moulia

Cover Photo Mikki Tenazas - @thetravelpro

Contributors Alejandra Cerda Ojensa Andri Papanicolas Celina Tran Emma Rodin Ester Laiho Eva-Kristin Urestad Pedersen Grethe Nordgård Hanna Andersson Hanna Heiskanen Hanna Margrethe Enger Heidi Kokborg John Sempill Karin Blak Karl Batterbee Linda Thomspon Lotta Lassesson Malin Norman Mari Koskinen Maria Smedstad Maria Vole Marie Westerman Roberts Miriam Gradel Molly McPharlin Ndéla Faye Nina Bressler Philip Denvir Silvia Colombo Tina Nielsen Xander Brett Åsa Hedvig Aaberge

Sales & Key Account Managers Emma Fabritius Nørregaard Johan Enelycke Veronica Rafteseth

Advertising marketing@scanmagazine.co.uk

To Subscribe scanmagazine.co.uk/subscribe Scan Magazine Ltd 3rd floor, News Building, 3 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9SG, United Kingdom www.scanclientpublishing.com info@scanmagazine.co.uk www.scanmagazine.co.uk

© All rights reserved. Material contained in this publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior permission of Scan Magazine Ltd. Scan Magazine® is a registered trademark of Scan Magazine Ltd.

This magazine contains advertorials/promotional articles