WISA Wooden Design Hotel, Helsinki

Perched on the edge of a rocky outcrop in Helsinki Harbour, overlooking the gothic spires of the Finnish capital, a new, swooping structure has recently taken residence. Titled the Wooden Design Hotel, this unexpected guest offers an elegant lesson in what best to do with wood.

Despite its deceptive title, the undulating wooden structure is in fact not really a hotel. More of a temporary housing prototype able to hold the occasional guest, the woody monument has been designed by Interior architect Pieta-Linda Auttila for timber merchants WISA, as part of a commission to reassert the architectural benefits of the material.

Constructed in Finnish pine, birch and spruce, the 'hotel' constitutes an angular wood-decked tube, which expands flatulently in the centre - curling off into billowing shapes before returning to uniformity at each end.

With two separate living quarters situated at both ends, and a central, shared atrium in the centre – everything from the benches to the beds are constructed in the ever-present Finnish pine, whilst walls and ceilings come coated in ethereal shades of Birch.

Rising out of the sea on its dark, stony island - the structure, in place until the end of September, is not designed to blend with the scenery. Built to bring wood back to the drawing board - we're wondering where it will end up next, any takers?

INFORMATION

Website
http://www.wisa24.com

Telephone
35.82 0414 7021

Address
WISA Wooden Design Hotel
Valkosaari
Helsinki
Finland