Wood pavilion to be a World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 meeting place

A key meeting place of World Design Capital (WDC) Helsinki 2012 will be a pavilion placed in an empty lot between Museum of Finnish Architecture and Design Museum in Helsinki. The design of this pavilion will communicate the role of WDC Helsinki as a pioneer in wood construction.

The pavilion will be a WDC Helsinki 2012 hub and meeting place for the general public, the media and visiting international experts during the summer months of 2012. The pavilion will also house a café and a small WDC Helsinki 2012 shop.

The pavilion will open after the 1st of May, 2012. It will be a venue for diverse programmes – such as workshops, presentations by top international and domestic speakers, comments on the other programme of WDC Helsinki 2012, daytime dances, film screenings, design flee markets and picnic events.

The pavilion will be a result of collaborative efforts by many players. Architectural and interior design will be by Aalto University, and the wood products will be supplied by UPM, the latest main corporate partner of WDC Helsinki. The pavilion’s programme will be produced jointly by WDC Helsinki, Design Museum, Museum of Finnish Architecture and Aalto University.

“We will create an enticing complex from the two museums and the empty lot between them,” says Pekka Timonen, Director of WDC Helsinki 2012. “We also want to articulate that Finland needs a state-of-the art venue for architecture and design. I want to see that our pavilion furthers this endeavour, which has for long been on the agenda in Helsinki.”

Future talent as designers

The pavilion will be designed by the architecture and design wood studios of Aalto University and the university’s department of design. Ten students have participated with their own proposals and the jury will select one concept at the end of May 2011 for further development. A working group will proceed to develop the chosen concept into a realizable pavilion together with the project partners.

The design process has been managed by a steering group, comprising representatives of Aalto University, WDC Helsinki 2012, the two museums and Architect Marco Casagrande. A well-known international visiting architect will be invited to oversee the execution of the concept and the finalization of the project.

Meet WDC Helsinki 2012 in other cities

WDC Helsinki 2012 will have meeting places in other cities than Helsinki. In Vantaa, the WDC Helsinki 2012 meeting place will be on Asematie in Tikkurila. In Espoo, WDC Helsinki 2012 can be met in the WeeGee Exhibition Centre. The official opening of the Lahti Design Station will take place on June 6, 2011.