(UPM and WDC Helsinki 2012, 26.5.2011) - The architectural concept of the central meeting place of the Helsinki Design Capital 2012, a temporary pavilion, has been chosen. The pavilion will be built in spring 2012 in an empty lot between Design Museum and the Museum of Finnish Architecture in Helsinki, at the site long planned for a permanent and vital new wing for both museums.
Ten students of Aalto University have been involved in the pavilion design and have made their own proposals. The jury has chosen for further development the proposal titled Museopolku (“museum path”) by Pyry-Pekka Kantonen, a student at the Department of Architecture of Aalto University.
The architectural design of the pavilion will now continue on the basis of the chosen concept. The concept will be developed further in a working group, made up of students of Aalto University’s Department of Architecture and students of the wood studios and Department of Design in the Aalto University School of Art and Design. The implementation and finalization of the concept will be supervised by architect Simon Beames, who teaches at AA school in London. Beames, also known from the firm Youmeheshe architects, is one of the most exciting young British architects.
The jury’s arguments for the choice included the way the new pavilion joins the museums, not only physically but also through activities. Museopolku is a relaxed, human-scale and activating urban living room. The architectural form of the concept stays enticing from one encounter to the next.
Pavilion produced through extensive collaboration
The pavilion will be the result of extensive collaboration among many stakeholders, comprising Aalto University, Design Museum, Museum of Finnish Architecture and UPM in addition to the Design Capital.
“The realization of the pavilion is made possible only by the participation of so many good players,” says Pekka Timonen, Director of World Design Capital Helsinki 2012. “Collaboration translates into strength, and the final outcome produced with the help of these players can be nothing other than ingenious. We have reached the first phase of the pavilion project, and we’re eagerly waiting for the concept to develop further.”
“Sustainable buildings and structures of the future are made from wood, and the Design Capital’s pavilion integrates wood construction, tradition, design and the future in an optimal way,” says Elisa Nilsson, UPM’s Vice President for Brand Management. “The pavilion provides a magnificent opportunity to show what can be produced professionally and innovatively from Finnish wood and wood-based products.” UPM is one of the main corporate partners of WDC Helsinki 2012, and the pavilion will be constructed from UPM’s wood products.
“The Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design Museum both suffer from an acute need for more space,” declare Marianne Aav, Director of Design Museum, and Juulia Kauste, Director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture, in a joint statement. “The architecture museum in particular is restricted from being more interactive with the public by lack of facilities and the inflexibility of the current facilities. The temporary pavilion in 2012 offers us an opportunity to organize new kinds of events and to introduce topical questions related to architecture and design to the larger public.”
Jury
The jury comprised Marianne Aav, Director of Design Museum, Curator Jukka Savolainen of Design Museum, Juulia Kauste, Director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Kristiina Nivari, Deputy Director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Antti Ratia, Head of Communications, UPM Timber, Kaarina Gould, Programme Director, World Design Capital Helsinki 2012, Professor Antti-Matti Siikala, Chair of the Department of Architecture at Aalto University, Professors Pentti Kareoja and Pekka Korvenmaa and the wood studio leaders Pekka Heikkinen, Risto Huttunen, Karola Sahi and Mikko Paakkanen of the Aalto University School of Art and Design, and Project Manager Kaisa Kivelä of Aalto University. Architect Marco Casagrande was a visiting juror.
For more information please contact:
Mr Antti Ratia, Communication manager, UPM Timber, tel: +35850 487 2173
Visit also http://www.wdc2012helsinki.fi/en
