You Tell Me Collective

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268289

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Submitted

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS : concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)

Project title

You Tell Me Collective

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Description

You Tell Me is a collective of students and young architects working on a paradigm change in the field of construction. The change in mindset is promoted through activism, thematic projects and regular meetings called "evening schools". Evening schools are a platform for peer learning and knowledge sharing. Students, practicing architects and experts from various fields get together and share ideas and best practices. The topics have ranged from post humanism to economy and ethics of architects.

Where is your concept/idea being developed or intended to be implemented in the EU?

Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

You Tell Me is a collective of students and young architects working on a paradigm change in the field of construction. The change in mindset is promoted through activism, thematic projects and regular meetings called "evening schools". Evening schools are a platform for peer learning and knowledge sharing. Students, practicing architects and experts from various fields get together and share ideas and best practices. The topics have ranged from post humanism to economy and ethics of architects. Guest speakers have included FEMMA Planning (a planning office practicing feminist urban planning), Pasi Toiviainen (an architect, reporter, author and documentary film maker known for his book Climate Change. Now! and documentary film The Venus Theory), and Juhana Heikonen (co-author of the pamphlet: Whose City - Helsinki city planning and cultural heritage on a collision course) among others. The speakers of each session will give short introductory words and then lead the participants into a moderated discussion. The discussions are documented and the references and resources shared are gathered into an information bank on the collective's website. Alongside the main activity of the evening schools the collective tackles societal challenges through thematic projects. In the Autumn of 2020 the collective worked on the topic of societal discussion. The result of the project was an anti-advertisement campaign in the Helsinki metro announcement boards and on social media informing the citizens of the sustainability issues of our built environment. During the Spring of 2021 the collective has worked on the theme of education by organizing a series of education themed evening schools and conducted a survey on the students’ experiences of sustainability education. The project culminated in a workshop with the faculty of Aalto University’s Department of Architecture where the staff and students planned ways to better integrate sustainability in all aspects of the education.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of sustainability and how these would be met

The aim of the collective is to bring about a paradigm change in the field of construction. In the field of architecture, there is a need for a fundamental change in thinking. In addition to ecological sustainability, the change in thinking involves attitudes towards the economy, ethics, and social justice. You Tell Me Collective feels that these challenges are easier to tackle in a group rather than alone. The purpose of the collective is to encourage critical thinking that challenges current practices and strives for a more sustainable way of working in the industry. The You Tell Me collective is also a platform through which students and young architects can influence the development of their field. For our generation, change is essential. The same practices cannot be continued. The team is constantly looking for a more sustainable way to work in the field of architecture and seeks to influence and take a stand on important issues. Activism is carried out through events, information sharing and other means of influence. The biggest project of the collective so far is the “Buildings we live in ” - campaign, which aimed to share information about the environmental impact on the built environment.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met

The collective and the discussion in the evening schools give space to discuss what is meaningful life. The new discussion can challenge the norms and the taste in contemporary Finnish architecture and in education very much still based upon modernism. From value discussions new aesthetics can emerge. Perhaps sustainability and natural materials can be beautiful. Perhaps the buildings with long lifespans and existing buildings can be beautiful. Perhaps multispecies existence and healthy ecosystems can be beautiful.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion and how these would be been met

The field of architecture is vast, and no one can be an expert in everything. Perhaps it is more important to know what we do not yet know and to be able to turn to the right sources, experts, and collaborators. Through peer learning, students can complete their university education and find peer support for practicing architecture in the era of Anthropocene. Finding tools for the great challenges of our time is also easier together than alone. The field of Finnish architecture is small. Expertise and professional skills can be found in Finland, but perhaps not the same diversity of views and ideas as in bigger countries. We need new voices in the field of Finnish architecture. The You Tell Me team encourages international cooperation and the exchange of ideas. It would be great to see Finnish architects working internationally, and Finnish architecture could also accommodate international voices. The collective implements international cooperation, e.g. with the European Architecture Student Assembly of the Trans-European Network of Architecture Students. All activities of the collective are organized in English and during the pandemic year platforms such as zoom have enabled people to participate in evening schools from around the world. The collective also aims to include non-experts in the discussion. The main aim of the Buildings We Live In campaign was to raise the issues of the built environment into public discussion. The result of the project was an anti-advertisement campaign in the Helsinki metro announcement boards and on social media informing the citizens of the sustainability issues of our built environment. During the campaign articles and opinion pieces of the collective were published in several publications such as Helsingin Sanomat (the biggest Finnish newspaper), Arkkitehti Uutiset and Rakennuslehti.  

Please explain the innovative character of your concept/ idea

The collective is non-hierarchical and open. The collective welcomes anyone interested to participate within their abilities. Some collective members are actively involved and working long term and others are participating project based for a certain period of time. The goal of the collective is to give a community to young architects to find their place in their future career and to provide a platform through which to work for a better future. A key aspect of the collective’s activity is peer learning. The challenge with the crisis facing our times is that they are so complex and there are not necessarily ready made answers. There is a need for new knowledge to be created. A key starting point is simply the discussion on these matters. The collective creates spaces for students and recently graduated to discuss what it means to be an architect in the era of Anthropocene. The collective recognizes that we are not the only ones working on these issues. There are many organizations that are working towards the same goals. The collective focuses on networking and bringing together different experts and organizations with shared interests. By building coalitions the collective can have a bigger impact on the work towards a more sustainable and equitable world. The collective does not aim to do everything alone. The collective aims to provide solutions that are scalable and that can be adopted by others. The collective aims to inspire students from around Finland and Europe and from many different fields to take on these challenges.  

Please detail the plans you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea, with a particular attention to the initiatives to be taken before May 2022

The collective keeps working on its goals by organizing the evening schools and by participating in the societal discussion. The collective has been invited to speak in many occasions for example in the A&DO seminar organized by the Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Design Museum and most recently in the Architect days organized by the Finnish architect union SAFA. In the beginning of the year 2021 the collective was selected as the young change makers of the year by Ashoka Nordic. Ashoka is the world's largest network of social entrepreneurs and after nomination Ashoka has provided mentoring for the collective to work on its goals and vision. The collective will be participating in Ashoka’s Nordic Young Changemaker Summit in Sweden in the Autumn of 2021 to network with other young activists around the Nordics. During the summer of 2021 the collective will organize a series of week-long summer schools for 16-20 year olds in collaboration with the Museum of Finnish Architecture. The summer schools are free of cost and can hopefully encourage more people from different backgrounds to go into the field of architecture. The collective will be working with new thematic projects alongside its core activity. The collective has been applying for funding for a participatory project where the citizens could create utopias in their living environment.  

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Rising Stars Awards more than once in the same category.