Pavilion of senses 2024 – Concrete studio 2024

In the Department of Architecture at Aalto University, basic studies include getting familiar with the most common building materials through various exercises. In the course of the professorship “Sustainable Construction“ in the spring of 2023, students were introduced to mineral building materials and their specific properties. In a practical design task, they examined the constructive and architectural potential of concrete as a cast material. Among other things, they covered the topics of monolithic construction, positive and negative space, and solid construction. The specific task was to design a sensory pavilion in the bay area of the Aalto Campus in Otaniemi. The students developed individual pavilions approximately 30 m² in size that were placed freely in the area as open and cold structures. The theme of each pavilion had to be based on the experience the place provides to the senses or on a natural element, such as a view, a sound, a water body, a daylight cycle, or a plantation. The pavilions were to be built as massive and monolithic structures designed in groups at a scale of 1:10 and finally cast into their shape.

This year, one pavilion (Group 3) was cast in a sustainable concrete mix where the cement aggregate was substituted with fly ash from combustion waste. The development of the mix and the manufacturing process was carried out in collaboration with the Aalto School of Engineering and researcher Ville Repo.

Read the entire article in Finnish and see the images >>