Burnt offering.

The latest practical exercise of the Department of Architecture at Helsinki University of Technology, shows how flames can help preserve a building.

The area between Helsinki city centre and Aalto's Finlandia concert hail was traditionally rundown and covered with railway lines and dreary warehouses -- a scab on the face of the city, which numerous architects and planners desperately tried to salve. Now, a good deal of it has been transformed into an art park, with permanent and changing exhibitions. One of the most obvious new additions is CARBON, a summer cafe designed by Niko Sirola, a student at the Department of Architecture, Helsinki University of Technology. Every year, the Finnish Timber Council sponsors a competition for the students of the Wood Studio which is run by Jan Soderlund. [*] (A previous winning scheme, for a movingly elegant sauna, was published in AR June 1997).

Sirola's scheme is intended to focus and intensify views of the city and Finlandia. It consists of a big simple rectangle of wood which frames glass walls, so you can look through the building from one side to the other. Construction and design development were by Sirola and 14 students, who were chosen to take part following results of the competition. A glulam ring was assembled on site from industrially prefabricated units which had been dried using a new method. Floor, walls and roof were made from laminated timber elements 625mm wide and 140mm thick, which are fixed together with coach bolts and stainless-steel pins.

The timber exterior of the pavilion has been blackened and preserved by charring, then creosoted to prevent water penetration. Black walls are patterned with a brown spatter of knots. Close up, the natural texture of the components is revealed to eyes and fingers with great intensity: the deep resonant aroma of burnt and distilled wood is poignant, evocative of bonfires and the taming of nature by humankind.

Inside, wood is left natural and has its own, less elemental, softer scent. A simple bar and a stove are made of black steel. Sliding glass partitions separate the main cafe and covered terraces. Laminated elements similar to those used in the main structure are laid out on the grass at right angles to the main axis of the pavilion; on hot days, they become long park benches. Lavatories are in a separate small building faced with plywood covered in black recycled rubber. CARBON itself shows great sensitivity for the sensuous and technical potential of timber. It will be very interesting to see how the pavilion will survive winter: will that strange external treatment really perform as its creators hope? They certainly deserve success. P.D.

(*.) For further information email: [e-mail]

Architect

Niko Sirola/Wood Studio

Photographs

Murko Huttunen 1, 2

Antti Luutonen 3,4