UPM design competition brings innovative wooden architecture to Helsinki South Harbour
UPMA WISA Wooden Design Hotel will be situated in Helsinki South Harbour during the summer.
The wooden building won ‘WISA 24h Wooden Design Workshop’-competition in April. The contest was organized by UPM, one of the world’s leading forest industry companies. The winning work was designed by Pieta-Linda Auttila, a Master of Arts student of Spatial Design at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki.
Despite its name, the building is not designed to serve a purpose as an ordinary hotel, yet the 30-40 square metre building will be able to offer overnight facilities for a few people at a time.
- WISA Wooden Design Hotel is intended to attract attention. The building will have a very visible location in the city, somewhat like Havis Amanda, the famous mermaid at Helsinki’s market square. It will captivate the interest of architects, designers and the wider public, comments Antti Ratia, Head of Communications at UPM Timber.
Even though timber is the main material for suburban house building in Finland, are truly innovative timber houses still relatively few especially in the urban environment. The jury defined Pieta-Linda Auttila’s design named ‘26080608’ as follows: "A simple solution with the key idea at its core. The living space enclosing the outdoor patio in the middle is a fantastic insight. The work embodies a strong exploration of form."
WISA 24h Wooden Design Workshop competition received a total of 75 participating designs, out of which eight were chosen in for the final. The competitors had 24 hours for designing a brave and iconic design out of Finnish pine and spruce.
The finalists’ designs can be viewed at: www.wisa24.com
