Aalto and Bryggman work in the “Suomen Messut” of Turku (1929): a laboratory for an extended rationality

Abstract

In 1929 the ‘Suomen Messut’ was celebrated in Turku on the occasion of the commemoration of the 700th anniversary of the city. Alvar Aalto and Erik Bryggman, the two architects who best knew the international avant-garde, were chosen as the designers of the exhibition. Both were in search of their own language, exploring and trying to distill different influences. The Turku´29 fair was the perfect opportunity to rehearse. A rapid construction for a very short subsistence period, and with a very broad social impact, was an exceptional occasion that could not be missed. For them it will become an authentic laboratory that would give them the opportunity to explore in their referents, and to experience architectural solutions and answers. The exhibition extended far beyond its intended limits, invading an important part of the city and, in fact, overlapping it. This architecture tried to colonize Turku and turn it into an extensive modern complex even if only for a few days. Its construction was done in wood, but not in the traditional way but according to contemporary standardized criteria. From critical positions with an apparent functionalism, they would work to achieve an "extended" rationality that would soon mature in their long trajectories.