Architecture
Timber Inside and Out
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Posted by Niki Fulton at 15:26 PM in Architecture
The first thing that struck me when I came into land at Helsinki airport was the vast expanse of forest that stretched out in front of me.
The timber theme continued inside the airport terminal with its parquet flooring, timber screening and timber furniture. This is a country that embraces one of its natural products and puts it to use in buildings, inside and out. Back in the 1930’s Alvar Aalto famously used timber for the undulating ceiling in the Viipuri Municipal Library where he also used his birch wood stool for seating.
It comes as no surprise then that UPM , a Finnish timber supplier launched a competition earlier this year called the Wooden Design Workshop.
Architects, designers and students were invited to design a timber building in 24 hours entitled WISA Wooden Design Hotel. Mr.Anitta Ratia, Head of Communications UPM Timber is keen to raise awareness about the role of timber in urban architecture. He acknowledges the strong presence of timber in suburban residential properties but within the urban environment, wooden structures are rarer to see. He also points out that, “wood is environmentally sustainable and the only truly renewable construction material. In Europe wood grows in forests faster that we can process it”
The winning design came from interior architect Pieta-Linda Auttila. Her design demonstrates the versatility of timber as she has used it for load bearing, décor in walls, ceilings and floors. The finished structure can be seen on Valkosaari, an island in the Helsinki harbour area until the end of this month.
Many thanks to Pieta-Linda Auttila for supplying the photograph.
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