Suppanen was recognized for his international experience and boundary-breaking work for sustainable culture.
The Finnish Cultural Foundation awarded three people for significant work in culture with a prize of € 30 000 in an annual event on 27 February. The award was given to botanist Markku Häkkinen, professor Riitta Konttinen and designer Ilkka Suppanen.
The foundation stated Suppanen’s boundary-breaking work for sustainable culture and his wide international experience as a basis for selecting him as one of the awardees. His design projects focusing on humanitarian causes – such as the Club of Helsinki project in Sao Paulo – were also noted by the foundation.
“I am very flattered to have received this award. Looking at the designers that have been previously awarded, like Alvar Aalto and Tapio Wirkkala, I’m in great company!” Suppanen says.
Ilkka Suppanen
Designer Ilkka Suppanen (b. 1968) has studied architecture at the Technical University of Helsinki and Interior and Furniture Design in the University of Art and Design Helsinki. Already as a student, he worked actively abroad. In 1995, he founded Studio Suppanen in Helsinki. The clients of Studio Suppanen include Artek, Axis, Cappellini, Ferlea, Lucente, Luhta, Nokia, Proventus design and Saab automobiles.
Ilkka Suppanen has taught design at the University of Art and Design Helsinki since 1996.
In 1997, Suppanen and his Snowcrash team got the Young Designer of the Year Award in Germany. In the following year, he was nominated for the Dedalus prize for young European Designers by Ettore Sottsass as one of the four most important Designers under 40 years old. In 2000, Design Forum Finland awarded Ilkka Suppanen and Harri Koskinen the Young Designer of the Year prize.
Suppanen’s work has been exhibited worldwide including shows at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Milan Furniture Fair and the MoMA in New York. His works have been widely reported by the international press and significant publications. His works are part of the permanent collections of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and the Museum Für Angewandte Kunst in Köln.
