Huttunen-Lipasti Architects received the commission for a temporary pavilion in 2019. The task was not unfamiliar, as the office has previously designed wooden pavilions. Architect Santeri Lipasti mentions that moveability was an important factor in the design. Artist Villu Jaanisoo and landscape architects Emilia Weckman and Sarianna Salminen were also involved in the design process from the very beginning.

The pavilion’s shiny aluminium sheet facade and fasteners finds a counterpart in the shiny aluminium frame of the DC-3 “Lokki” aeroplane at the other end of Tiiranpuisto park, at the entrance of the Aviation Museum. Villu Jaanisoo’s relief-like artwork, which resembles a flock of birds taking flight, spreads across the facades.

The pavilion’s architecture draws its character from universal geometry. The triangular glass surfaces are repeated radially on each side of the building. The massing creates the impression that the triangular walls would collapse without each other’s support. Triangulation continues at different scales, from the entrance canopies to the railing structures. Disassembly has guided the design decisions and, for example, the aluminium sheets of the facade can be removed at the seams so as to enable the disassembly of the panels.

The shiny outer shell protects the load-bearing CLT frame within. The structure’s wood surfaces have been left untreated and bare, both on the floors and on the walls. The use of CLT extends also to the covered terrace and steps. The pavilion’s auxiliary facilities, toilets, kitchen, social space, storage and technical facilities are designed as a unified spatial element, with the building’s infrastructure placed in the upper part. The material from openings cut in the envelope for ventilation grilles has been reused in the door leaves, thus reducing material waste. The charred walls of the auxiliary rooms using the Yakisugi technique create a disciplined contrast to the light wooden surfaces.

Hidden from the visitor’s view is the pavilion’s roof covered with meadow vegetation. Landscape architect Sarianna Salminen states that the multi-species vegetated roof was created in close cooperation with the City of Vantaa’s green roof specialist and green roof supplier. The more typical subsoil drainage boards have been replaced with a plastic-free, more easily recyclable common reed. The layer of common reeds and growing medium has also allowed for taller vegetation on the roof, and the meadow roof has been supplemented with local species.

Source: Havu Järvelä’s review in Finnish Architectural Review 4/2023