Ornamo gains strength from a new cohort of leading experts

New members joining the board are Riikka Manninen, working environment and environmental responsibility expert, and Visa Rauta, global design head. Interior architect SIO Helena Aalto will continue for a second term.

Ornamo members voted for three board members for the 2026–2027 term. The new members were elected to replace those whose terms were ending at Ornamo’s autumn meeting on November 19, 2025. Ornamo’s board consists of a chairperson and 6, 8, or 10 regular members, from whom 1–3 vice-chairpersons are elected.

A total of 212 votes were cast in the digital election, with a turnout of 13%.

Decisions to support members

The autumn meeting also saw important decisions made regarding membership fees: fees for members on parental leave or who are unemployed or unable to work will be reduced so that they can maintain their connection with Ornamo throughout different stages of their lives. The new membership fees for 2026 will be updated on the membership fee page shortly.

In addition, Ornamo will introduce a Senior Membership for members over 65 who have been members for at least 10 years. At the same time, applications for free membership will be discontinued after the turn of the year. Ornamo members who have reached the end of their free membership by the end of the year will be able to retain their membership.

Wellcome to the board

Helena Aalto
Interior Architect SIO

Helena Aalto’s work history focuses heavily on commercial space design, but she has also been involved in sales work among her colleagues. Influencing has always been important to her, and in recent years she has been active on the board of the Finnish Interior Architects Association (SIO) and served her first term on the board of Ornamo.

Helena Aalto decided to run for another term on Ornamo’s board to make sure interior architects keep having a strong voice in the wider design community.

Riikka Manninen
Specialist, working environments and environmental responsibility, Senaatti-kiinteistöt

Riikka Manninen is a designer specializing in responsibility (TaM), interior architect SIO, and a graduate student specializing in foresight (VTM). She works as an expert in work environment development, service design, and environmental responsibility at Senate Properties, focusing particularly on low-carbon and circular economy solutions.

Throughout her career, Manninen has focused on the urgent transition to sustainability in the real estate and construction sector, and her career path includes campus development, research, entrepreneurship, lecturing, and joint strategy development to accelerate change.

According to Manninen, Ornamo has a crucial role to play in showing the way forward and supporting its members in times of change. There is strength in community, but cooperation is also essential, as the challenges of our time cannot be solved in silos.

Visa Rauta
Global design head, KONE

Visa Rauta leads KONE’s global design team in Finland, China, and India. He is a member of KONE’s product development management team and brings with him extensive experience in leading multinational teams based on the Finnish brand.

Rauta has worked in the Finnish design industry for over 25 years, including two decades as an in-house designer and over five years at a design agency. He has exceptionally broad expertise in digital, physical, and printed design and has received numerous patents and awards.

Rauta believes that designers have both the opportunity and the responsibility to shape a more sustainable and equal future. On Ornamo’s board, he strives to strengthen the role of design in Finland’s competitiveness and to promote equality among all professionals in the design and arts fields.