AD Classics: Finnish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale / Alvar Aalto + Elissa Aalto
Tucked within the leafy confines of the Giardini della Biennale in Venice stands a structure modest in scale yet immense in quiet conviction: the Finland Pavilion, designed by Alvar and Elissa Aalto for the 1956 Venice Biennale. Unlike the monumental pavilions that surround it, Aalto's structure was conceived not as a permanent structure, but as a temporary exhibition space for a single exhibition season. And yet, nearly seventy years on, it remains—weathered, resilient, and quietly luminous.
Re-Creation. The Finnish Pavilion at the 2014 Venice Biennale. Image © Nico Saieh
- architects: Alvar Aalto
- architects: Elissa Aalto
- Location: Calle Giazzo, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
- Project Year: 1956
- Photographs: Nico Saieh
- Photographs: Courtesy of Timo Riekko, Alvar Aalto Museum
- Photographs: Jonathan Yeung
- Photographs: Matti Jänkälä
- Photographs: Miina Jutila
- Photographs: Ugo Carmeni
Tucked within the leafy confines of the Giardini della Biennale in Venice stands a structure modest in scale yet immense in quiet conviction: the Finland Pavilion, designed by Alvar and Elissa Aalto for the 1956 Venice Biennale. Unlike the monumental pavilions that surround it, Aalto's structure was conceived not as a permanent structure, but as a temporary exhibition space for a single exhibition season. And yet, nearly seventy years on, it remains—weathered, resilient, and quietly luminous.
