Happy together vs. melancholy of loneliness: Disruptive practices on community and privacy

This article handles key concepts of spatial urban development associated with the theory of participatory design from the point of view of the current Finnish architectural discourse. From our perspective, it is apparent that much of the concepts used in participatory design are already inherently part of contemporary architectural and urban design, even down to the legislative level. On the other hand, a problematic rises when concepts from one field are transmitted to another. Concepts find different meanings in different discourses. Thus communicating conceptual counterparts between discourses is seen as an important phase in an interdisciplinary project such as Human Cities.
Further this article makes first steps in identifying a current mainstream architectural aesthetic present in Finland, perhaps also the Nordic cultural area. Drawing comparisons from the well-known Helsinki School of Photography -movement, we call this current stylistic sensitivity its architectural parallel, Exit School of Architecture. From the perspective of this stylistic regime, stereotypical results of participatory architecture are seen as lacking local identity, often constitute of ad hoc constructions and a haphazard overall feel. Thus we seek to question the possibilities of creating a local Finnish/Nordic aesthetic and approach for a participatory project. Aalto University project Labs for Learners is examined as a potential future ground for experiments on implementing a new kind of participatory architecture in the form of a new kind of school concept.
This article will critically analyse the type of key concepts of spatial urban development associated with the theory of participatory design, including “participatory design” itself, “innovating with people”, “challenging design”, “design with people”, “design as a tool”, “human-driven design”, “human-based design”, “urban experiments in design”, “engaging design”, “co-creation in design”, “design change”, “empathy in design”, “wellbeing in design”, “conviviality in design”, “unplanned activities in design” and many more.
The focus of the Human Cities project (2014-2018) is to analyse, test and implement the process of engaging people in co-creating and challenging the city scale in Europe today. Underlying the project there is an assumption that “people” are the key to “design change” in a network society and to respond to the changes in physical and digital space. Through applied research and co-creation, Human Cities network appears as a continuous “human-driven” cultural programme questioning the position and status of people in relationship to their city and the dynamic cityscape.