Helsinki architect designs WISA Wooden Design Hotel

Created for Finnish forest products brand UPM Kymmene, the building is made of pine, spruce and birch grown in Finland. An example of wood’s versatility, the wood at the hotel works both as a load-bearing structure, and decor in walls, ceilings and floors. The building is a composition of Finnish pine, spruce and birch.

The atrium courtyard in the center of the facility separates the living quarters at both ends. The curved part, slashed into strips in the middle, forms a trellis and shelters the courtyard of the hotel, while the unbroken ends form the living quarters. The atrium’s shape flatters the liveliness of wood with long curved pine boards half-covering the patio to form a trellis. The trellis protects against the wind, and filters the long rays of the Nordic sun into the courtyard, from where the interplay of light and shade can be observed throughout the day. The interior features pine floor, complemented by the light, ethereal beauty of Nordic birch. The walls and the ceiling are paneled with durable birch plywood.

The dark exterior and light interior of the WISA Wooden Design Hotel represent a broken block of wood, which reveals the original lightness of the wood when the dark surface of the block is cracked. The floor-to-ceiling windows at both ends of the hotel provide plenty of light to the interior. The bedroom faces the sea and the morning sun. Past the courtyard, at the other end of the space, the view from the lounging area gives onto the city and the evening sun.

Pieta-Linda Auttila describes the idea she realized with the design. In the beginning was the roaring sea. Powerful waves lifted from the depths a wooden block, already darkened by sea water, and threw it against a rock. The force of the blow broke the wood in the middle, says Auttila.

The building, which can provide overnight accommodation for a few people, but is not designed for general hotel use, is based on the winning proposal of the WISA 24-hour Wooden Design Workshop competition organized by UPM, one of the leading forest products companies in the world.