70 LEADING WOMEN
devoid of ritualistic and symbolic attributes’. Reaching back to the original purpose of mosques as places of community, as well as communion, she says: ‘Te main prayer hall is designed as a place of refuge where everyone is welcomed; a pavilion on eight columns wrapped in a brick structure that houses the ancillary functions of the mosque. Te punctuated brick walls and open courts help to keep the building ventilated throughout the summer… and create a truly porous building, open to external light, sound and climate.’ MTA has dedicated huge time and energy
in devising temporary but robust structures for refugees and those navigating hazardous climatic conditions. For workers dealing with frequent flooding in the Panigram Resort, Jessore, MTA devised simple modular, demountable homes, built on stilts, to deal with frequent relocations caused by fluctuating tides. A flatpack scheme, the Khudi Bari, was devised during the Covid pandemic in 2020: a lightweight modular structure of 3.0m2
, made
of bamboo with steel joints, easy to assemble and disassemble. It costs £300 and can house a family of four. Hundreds of families have been housed in these structures already. In summer 2025, her unique sensibility will
land in the UK, with the construction of the Serpentine Pavilion. A Capsule In Time is an elongated capsule-like structure of four, wooden forms, with an open, central court. It draws on the South Asian architectural tradition of Shamiyana tents or awnings, used for gatherings. Part of the pavilion is kinetic and can close to create a larger gathering space. All the materials, such as wood for the structure with built-in shelving options and the translucent façade, have been sourced locally and designed with the pavilion’s afterlife in mind – which is envisioned as a library. Tabassum concludes: ‘It is immensely
liberating to realise that an architect is not bound by the four walls of a building… One can transcend visual dominance and object- making towards an architecture of relevance, in response to time’s needs.’
Hanna Harris Hanna Harris, chief design officer for Helsinki, is one of very few design bosses appointed to only a handful of the world’s modern cities – Seoul, LA and Eindhoven being the others. Te role emerged when Helsinki was a World Design Capital in 2012, and Harris is only the second person to have taken on that title. Te job, in essence, is ‘to create an
environment where people can thrive’. But what that means covers an absolute multitude of departments and issues, from education and the city’s climate-neutral ambitions (targeted for 2030) through to activation of public space, parks and playgrounds. Five years into the job, one of her proudest
achievements is helping to conceive and then deliver a brand new kind of playground: one that helps to educate children on how computers work. Te Somatic Playground in Ruoholahti was co-created with children’s
author Linda Liukas, whose books help children find the fun in technology. Working together with Landscape Architecture agency Näkymä Oy and play equipment specialists Monstrum, the playground has been a huge success. But making it happen involved opening up dialogue with people who might not normally be consulted, and getting cross-disciplinary conversations going – a core component of her job. Says Harris: ‘I’m trying in my work to change how we do things but also putting in place certain structures, building bridges in places that give us an opportunity to look at things differently. Te playground has been one of those things. I don’t get involved in every single playground in Helsinki but this one I did, because it’s been a bit of a change agent. ‘We started by pairing Linda with
landscape architects to think what this could mean in terms of a park. Ten we talked to the education people, and our chief of children’s culture. When everyone was enthusiastic, we managed to get it into the ten-year investment plan (it cost around $1.6m).’ Now a booklet of games and exercises that are built into each play space have been shared with all of Helsinki’s schools, so that the park becomes part of their digital literacy programme. Helsinki’s child-inclusive attitude was
recognised in autumn 2024 with a UNICEF Child Friendly City award. Says Harris, proudly: ‘It’s the first Nordic city to receive that award.’ Te tribute was not just for the city’s excellent playgrounds (110 in a city of around 660,000 people), but, according to Harris, for ‘our thinking around how we can work even better with children and young people: how can we help them to understand and read the urban environment? What capacity do they have to take part in it, and take ownership of their neighbourhoods?’ Design and computer literacy is stitched
into the national curriculum: Finland was one of the first countries to teach digital literacy at primary school (not just how we use computers, but why, including that vital element of safeguarding), as well as design and architecture, which was introduced into the school curriculum in 2017. Harris says: ‘I really believe that design and architecture are crucial parts of our everyday lives, and if we can give children the tools for understanding how that works it will help them understand this world and become active citizens in it.’ Agency is a strong aspect of what Harris is
trying to achieve, but that only comes through building understanding – not just with your citizens, but with the public sector employees who look after them: ‘Cities are messy things. Governance is complicated. Administrative silos are so hierarchical, there will always be different departmental ways of doing things, different budgets prioritised. My chance to chip in is essential in design, in bringing those voices together.’ While answerable to the chief executive of
the urban environment division, Harris’s field of influence is more horizontal, with a nimble design team that operates across the City
Council, unlocking areas of potential, where multiple departments need to be engaged and enthused – for example, in placemaking or sustainability. Harris is involved in the decommissioning and future use planning of the iconic Hanasaari Power Plant (built by leading modernist Finnish architect, Timo Penttilä, opened in 1960). Says Harris: ‘It will require multiple
stakeholders, so we wanted to make sure we have all relevant data before launching a design competition.’ Public consultations have been ongoing in the past year, with opportunities to explore the decommissioned areas. ‘We’re working with the city museum, discussing which aspects have to be preserved and modified. We’re looking at the financials, the cost estimates, what the building means locally. Te decommissioning work will finish this summer. We’ll then move into the stage where there will be potential temporary use, both outdoor spaces and
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