New Standards
Timber Houses Ltd. 1940–1955
Kristo Vesikansa
Philip Tidwell
Laura Berger
Garret Publications 2021
garret.fi
Standardization in building is frequently deplored as monotonous and boring, but it persists as a recurring dream for architects aiming to harness the power of industrial production.
New Standards examines the conditions that affect standard, industrial and manufactured buildings by re-visiting a forgotten chapter of wood construction in post-war Finland. The story centers on the industrial enterprise Puutalo Oy [Timber Houses Ltd.], which was established in 1940 as part of Finland’s response to a refugee crisis brought about by war. In less than a decade, the company became one of the largest manufacturers of prefabricated wooden buildings in the world.
From 1940 to 1955, many thousands buildings were exported from Finland to sites on every inhabited continent, constructing a legacy of housing and urbanization that has been largely overlooked. Today, these wooden houses may be Finland’s most widespread architectural export. Situated at the intersection of architecture and industrial design, they use a limited range of components to achieve thousands of variations suited to different functional, climatic and cultural conditions.
The book offers a new perspective on this legacy through careful analysis of the ways in which these buildings and projects emerged from a rapidly changing political landscape. A series of commissioned essays bring forth exports to the Stalin-era Soviet Union and Cold War Berlin, as well as the company´s advertisements on the domestic front. These historical studies are complemented by contemporary images by acclaimed photographer Juuso Westerlund, which capture views of life in neighborhoods from Helsinki (Finland), Aarhus (Denmark) and Barranquilla (Colombia).
Available at Idea Books (link) and Nide Bookstore (link). Soon to arrive at other bookstores.
List of contents
Foreword
Katarina Siltavuori
Introduction
Prologue: The Foundations of Success
Part I: The Early Years
The Puutalo Drafting Room
From Buildings to Systems
Part II: Emergency Measures
The Sibling Rival
Part III: The Post-War Era
Architecture on Display
The Invisible Illustrator
The Urgency of Education
Epilogue: The Legacy of Puutalo
Alvar Aalto and Standardization
Domestic Matters
Photographs by Juuso Westerlund
Helsinki, Finland 1941–1943
Aarhus, Denmark 1946–1948
Barranquilla, Colombia 1955–1956
A Better World: The Advertisements of Puutalo
Riitta Niskanen
Wooden Houses for Workers and Scientists in Stalin’s Soviet Union
Netta Böök
Finnenhaussiedlungen and Cold War Berlin
Anna Kondracka
Lessons from Puutalo
Pekka Heikkinen
Conclusion
Puutalo Deliveries Between 1940 and 1955
Notes
Sources
Authors
Acknowledgements
Exhibition Credits
The book will be launched on 23rd September 2021 at the Pavilion of Finland in Venice.