Builders of the Future

Design Museum’s summer exhibition explores the fascinating recent history of Finland and its golden age of design. Builders of the Future presents the ways in which Finland rose from the economic hardships of the Second World War to become one of the world’s leading countries in design. It tells how design and architecture influenced reconstruction,
of the challenges of the period, and of the impact of design on national unity, society and economic progress.

The exhibition shows not only the important icons, such as Tapio Wirkkala, Timo Sarpaneva and Marimekko, of the golden age of Finnish design but also the phenomena that led to considerable international renown, their background, and less-known designers who were also involved. The exhibition discusses the fostering of good taste, the promotion of design in the media, and the impact of industry and mechanization on design and thereby on everyday life in homes. In the 1950s, design was a competitive effort almost comparable to participating in the Olympic Games. By the 1960s, change was brought about not only by emerging critical voices but also by new materials and technologies that were the basis for the joyous pop culture of plastics and bright colours.