The Paris World Exposition 1937
Living Wood

Year: 1937 City: Paris Country: France Duration: 25th May - 25th November 1937

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Thanks to the successful combination of traditional and modern architecture, the Finnish Pavilion designed by Hugo Alvar Aalto was unanimously praised by the contemporary press as one of the best exposition buildings. Aalto integrated a functionalistic design approach with the traditional Finnish construction material wood. It was therefore logical that the wood industry was given extremely broad scope within the pavilion to present its virtues. The organic material was not only used in the load-bearing structure of the building, it was also used to face the outside walls, build the partition walls, and used in the interior decoration. Aalto's stylistic hallmarks such as undulating ceilings and flowing walls highlighted the modern construction characteristics and living quality of the material.

For the site assigned to Finland near the Trocadero, Aalto designed a large main building with rounded corners and a flat roof encompassing several roofed terraces optimally integrated within the park-like site dominated by mature trees. Large skylights provided the gentle illumination harmonising with the building material. A few white walls provided effective contrasts. Because most of the building was prefabricated in Finland, it only required assembly on site.