vuosirenkaita / annual rings 1994-2014

Annual Rings 1994-2014 / A New Generation of Wood Architecture

Exhibition at the Museum of Finnish Architecture, large and small exhibition hall Oct 8, 2014 – Jan 25, 2015

Wood technology in architecture is increasingly becoming a matter of research and interest for architects as well as structural engineers, who are exploring the potential of this material, for its sustainable, aesthetic and structural features.

OOPEAA is part of the MFA´s exhibition, Annual Rings 1994-2014, offering a twenty-years perspective on wood architecture in Finland. Kärsämäki Church and Puukuokka Housing Block are respectively examples of lyric and everlasting yet contemporary space achieved through reinterpretation of traditional building techniques; and of high-end structural research, investigating the possibility of creating high-rise building entirely with wood materials.

This joint exhibition co-hosted by the Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Aalto University Wood Program tells the story of Finnish wood architecture over the past two decades. It also celebrates the Wood Program’s 20th anniversary.

See and feel wood come to life in the exhibition architecture and in 47 projects showcasing innovative uses of timber. Each project is also illustrated with scale models.

Modern Finnish wood architecture evolved between 1920 and 1990 as part of the young nation’s growth story. The exhibition offers a timeline perspective, featuring a rich assortment of new projects as well as familiar examples from the early 1900s, including the wooden residential district of Käpylä and the post-war type houses built for returning veterans and their families in the 1940s.

Focusing mainly on current trends in contemporary wood architecture from 1994 to 2014, the chosen projects showcase the boundless opportunities offered by wood. Today’s up-and-coming generation of Finnish architects combines age-old traditions with wholly new techniques of building with wood.

Curators of the exhibition are Pekka Heikkinen, Professor in Wood Architecture at Aalto University, Architect Philip Tidwell and Juulia Kauste, Director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture. The exhibition design is by architect Philip Tidwell and Pekka Heikkinen. Architects Anastasiia Ieremenok and Ana Rosa García Olmedo have assisted the project.

The exhibition is made possible by the Alfred Kordelin Foundation and the Aalto University. It was co-produced with Lakea Oy and with the kind support of Metsä Wood, Puuinfo and Suomen Tuulileijona Oy.

Text: courtesy of MFA

For more information, please visit the website of MFA here or contact us!

1410_PR_Annual Rings 1994-2004-5 copy