The Finland Pavilion in the Gardens of the Bienniale in Venice

The Thirteenth Biennial of Architecture in Venice will commence on 28 August, with proposals for cutting edge contemporary architecture. But the Gardens of the Biennale in Venice are also an open-air museum of European architecture from the 900s. In fact, many of the national pavilions were built by famous architects, who wanted to express the best architectural trends of the time.

One of the pavilions showing the most original structure and materials is certainly that of Finland, designed by famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto in 1956.

It was anticipated that this was a temporary building and to be used only for the Biennale, but then it was agreed to keep it, even at the cost of expensive repairs, since it is constructed entirely of wood. The structure was a prefab that was sent from Finland in pieces and reassembled in Venice, without the presence of the illustrious architect.

Alvar Aalto, an exponent of organic architecture, blends tradition and innovation: wood is a material which has been used for centuries in Finland to build, but the forms executed, the trapezoidal and the sloping ceiling, are innovative. The use of wood and attention to detail of the veins would show how the material was superior to the form itself.