The Iconic Aalto Vase Inspired a Monumental Pavilion at 3days

Rising along Copenhagen’s ever-changing harbor waterfront at this year’s 3daysofdesign festival was a 22-foot-tall monolith undulating with variegated aluminum extrusions. Unbeknownst to those on the ground, this semi-enclosed, temporary structure replicated the exact contour of the iconic vase seminal designer Alvar Aalto developed for Finnish glassware brand Iittala 90 years ago. Conceived by local multivalent studio TABLEAU and constructed by Norwegian sustainable metal purveyor Hydro, the monumental undertaking was a clear celebration of the design principles that underlie Scandinavian design, carried across all three countries represented.

“To be given the opportunity to design a pavilion for Iittala to celebrate the anniversary of such an iconic design as the Aalto vase is a dream come true, and something we’re deeply grateful for,” says Julius Værnes Iversen, Founder and Creative Director of TABLEAU. “We wanted to create an impactful pavilion that gives visitors a space to experience the beauty of design.”

The pavilion is a game of scale if there ever was one: an almost meta evocation amplifying the intrinsic links between object and architecture. Aalto trained as an architect and practiced across disciplines with little constraint, making the translation from vessel to inhabitable structure feel especially fitting.

“Bringing the Alvar Aalto vase to this measure required both the right material and engineering expertise, and the properties of aluminum extrusions made it the ideal choice for this kind of architecture,” says Asle Forsbak, Hydro Extrusions Marketing Director. “The project proved that it can be done on a large scale with a low carbon footprint.”

After the short run of the display, the modular slatted components were recycled and put back into the company’s production cycle. “We brought our full capability to bear on a single, iconic shape,” he adds.

Inside, versions of the former—the full gamut of the reissued Aalto City Vase collection—were strategically suspended on discrete, nearly invisible bases. True to the original form, this refreshed offering comes in carefully calibrated colorways reflective of waterfront capitals: Berlin, Amsterdam, Tokyo, New York, Helsinki, and, of course, Copenhagen. On offer are deep cobalts, clear whites, and bubbly golds. Much like the structure itself, an iridescent quality helps articulate the dramatic yet resolute curves.

To learn more about each party that contributed to the creative synergy, visit iittala.com, hydro.com, and tableau-cph.com.

Photography by Haavard Holmaas.

With professional degrees in architecture and journalism, New York-based writer Joseph has a desire to make living beautifully accessible. His work seeks to enrich the lives of others with visual communication and storytelling through design. When not writing, he teaches visual communication, theory, and design.