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Thursday 24 May, 6–9 pm The Gopher Hole 350–354 Old Street, London, EC1V 9NQ Blueprint and The Finnish Institute in London is delighted to announce a series of four events called HEL/LO – Let’s Talk. They will bring together architecture and design professionals from London and Helsinki for a lively discussion and exchange of ideas throughout the year. The first event to kick off the series on 24 May is called HEL/LO – Let’s Talk About Dreams. Held at The Gopher Hole in Shoreditch, it focuses on self-initiated, DIY architecture and design projects that shape the cities and communities we live in. Self-initiated projects are demonstrating that the urge to create is stronger than ever as designers, architects and writers operate in a market that can be crowded and short of opportunities. The first HEL/LO invites a panel of speakers who have created publications, manifestos, buildings, products and events that have had an impact in London and Helsinki, to discuss the proactive nature of their work and the changing methods designers and architects are using to realise their dreams. The speakers for the event are Helsinki-based architect and designer, Hella Hernberg and Olli Sire?n, producer and initiator of groundbreaking community projects together with the London-based designer Asif Khan and the young architectural practice Mobile Studio. The event series is accompanied by the HEL/LO – Let’s Talk blog, where the participants along with other contributing design and architecture professionals from Helsinki and London continue the dialogue and exchange of ideas. The HEL/LO series continues with HEL/LO – Let’s Talk About Games during the London Festival of Architecture, 6 July at the White Building in Hackney Wick. The following two HEL/LO events take place in September, one during the London Design Festival and one in Helsinki during Helsinki Design Week. Studio EMMI and the Peepshow Collective have created the set design for all HEL/LO events. The series is one of the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 international satellite events. The event is free but booking is essential as places are limited. Please book your seat at http://helloletstalkaboutdreams.eventbrite.com SPEAKERS: HELLA HERNBERG Hella is Helsinki-based architect and designer. Her main inspiration comes from a creative use of leftover materials; be it fabrics, attics or urban spaces. HEL/LO will be the London launch for Helsinki Beyond Dreams, a book on new urban culture in Helsinki, published by Urban Dream Management and edited by Hella. www.hellahernberg.com OLLI SIRE?N Awarded the title Citizen of the Year 2012 in Helsinki, Olli specialises in creating participation through social media. His proactive approach has been instrumental in a number of recent events and concepts in Helsinki including the Restaurant Day, We Love Helsinki Soiva Kortteli (Sounds on the Block) and Kuoroka?yta?va? (Choir Corridor). www.ollisiren.fi ASIF KHAN London born designer Asif Khan studied architecture  at the Bartlett school, UCL and at the AA in London finishing his training in 2007. Khan has a particular eye for projects that combine each of his respective fields of interest and recently launched a multidisciplinary collaborative practice will Pernilla Ohrstedt, a fellow graduate of the Bartlett School. His completed projects include West Beach Café, Littlehampton (2008), Tetra Light (2007), Swivel for Danese Milano (2011), and furniture for primary schools in Malawi with Magis for the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative (2009-12). www.pernilla-asif.com/ MOBILE STUDIO Mobile Studio is a young, London-based architectural practice. People behind it, Max Dewdney and Chee-Kit Lai, also run an award-winning BSc Degree Unit at the Bartlett, UCL, and are visiting critics at a number of leading UK universities. Nominated for Young Architect of the Year Award in 2008, the practice is actively involved in cultural and socially aware projects within the public realm. It is a design-orientated practice, and places a strong emphasis on collaborative working and public engagement. www.themobilestudio.co.uk