I will be posting a bit on airport dining in preparation for our upcoming Spring Break trip. One of the greatest things about having a child with your husband / business partner is that your entire family gets to skip out of work together without guilt and write two-third of the trip off!
We are working on a few airport projects currently (on the heals of one we completed a couple of years ago in Atlanta) and I will go into the details on them in a bit but for today...
I want to point out the brilliant design behind Café Alvar A. at the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. The restaurant was inspired by the work of Finnish designer and architect Alvar Aalto and was designed is conjunction with Finnish design company Artek and housewares company Iittala.
Source: SSP Press Release
CAFÉ ALVAR A.
“Café Alvar A. is Finland’s first real design café which brings together the top names of Finnish design. The concept was designed in cooperation with Artek, Iittala, and the Alvar Aalto Foundation. The sales counter imitates the contours of the famous Savoy vase by Alvar Aalto, the furniture comprises classic chairs designed by Artek, and the walls are adorned with a pixel arrangement of Iittala products, such as Kivi candle holders and Savoy vases.
The café is a real calling card for Finland and Finnish quality. In addition to Finnish design, the products sold in the café conform to the ’Best of Finland’ philosophy. The principle of local produce is upheld by serving products from small, high-quality producers, including cheeses and reindeer meat. The café also sells these products as souvenirs.”
Badass Element: 
The ’gift-away’ bag made from birch bark and designed by Finland’s most notable modern designer, Harri Koskinen. This modern version of a splint basket cannot be bought anywhere else in the world. Source: Remodelista
Techy Punch:
Guests at Café Alvar A. can charge their mobile phones by simply placing them on top of specially equipped tables. The innovative Powerkiss technology gives travelers the freedom to charge their phones without the use of cables.
"Powerkiss technology consists of a charging sender called ‘Heart´, which is integrated into the tables to turn it into a smart energy platform, and a small charging receiver called ‘Kiss’. Charging is effortless: Kiss is plugged into the device, which is then placed on the surface. Charging is regulated automatically and stops when the battery is full. The charging receivers are the size of USB-memory sticks and are available at the café."
Powerkiss at Café Alvar A. is a joint project of PowerKiss, Artek and SSP Finland.
For more information: www.powerkiss.com
