Immersive exhibition tells "untold story" of Aalto-designed Finland Pavilion

A video and sound installation exhibited at the Finland Pavilion documents the history of the structure at this year's Venice Architecture Biennale, revealed exclusively on Dezeen.

Originally designed by architect Alvar Aalto for the event's 1956 edition, the Finnish pavilion has undergone continuous maintenance and three major restorations since its construction.

Tracing its many restorations, curators Ella Kaira and Matti Jänkälä of Helsinki-based architecture studio Vokal sought to spotlight the efforts of conservation workers who have maintained the original pavilion – positioning them as co-creators alongside Aalto.

Titled The Pavilion – Architecture of Stewardship, the exhibition features a video and sound installation created by sound designer Jussi Hertz and video artist Merle Karl that aims to promote co-authorship and collaboration in architecture.

"People who maintain buildings develop knowledge over time of their upkeep," Kaira and Jänkälä told Dezeen.

"Our exhibition highlights the intelligence of the hand that many maintenance and restoration workers hold as they work closely with buildings and understand their unique conditions," they continued.

"Through this, we were able to tell the untold story of the pavilion."

Situated within the Giardini della Biennale, the pavilion is defined by its blue and white-painted wooden exterior.

Inside, the duo sought to create a minimalist intervention to transform the space from "an abstract backdrop into the main focus of the exhibition".

Beyond the entrance, the pavilion opens up to the exhibition space where the video is projected across the pavilion’s white walls and concrete floor.

The duo hope that the exhibition will help to recognise buildings as permanent structures as well as shift the industry away from its focus on singular icons towards a more collaborative architectural process.

"Our goal is to highlight the urgent need, within the ongoing climate crisis, to care for
 structures built during and after the 20th century," they told Dezeen.

"Our existing building stock holds a great diversity of spaces that could serve the needs of various contemporary and future communities."

Other pavilions at the Venice Architecture Biennale exclusively revealed on Dezeen today include the Danish Pavilion, which has been turned into a construction site by Søren Pihlmann.

The photography is by Ugo Carmeni.

The Venice Architecture Biennale takes place from 10 May and 23 November 2025. See Dezeen Events Guide for all the latest information you need to know to attend the event, as well as a list of other architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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