Skene Catling de la Peña to transform Aalto-designed silo into cultural events space - architecture and design
The studio and foundation recently purchased the silo, which was designed in 1931 for a cellulose plant in the Toppila district of Oulu, from the local city council.
They will now work together to turn the structure into the Aaltosiilo, while a research centre designed by Skene Catling de la Peña will be built alongside it.
Above: the silo was built in 1931. Photo is by the Finnish Heritage Agency. Top image: it is located close to Oulu in Finland. Photo is by Otto Lowe
The structure has sat empty since the plant closed in the mid-1980s, and after its own attempts to revitalise the structure, the council sold the silo to ensure its future.
"Despite years of trying to fund and use the silo, the Oulu City Council decided to sell in the hope that someone would save the building," Factum Foundation's director of communications, media, content and digital Nicolas Béliard told Dezeen. "There was concern it needed to be demolished," he added. "The experimental concrete structure from 1931 was considered too important to lose."
Factum Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to documenting cultural heritage, will now work with Skene Catling de la Peña to turn the silo into a cultural space.
"The aim will be to change the building as little as possible while rethinking the flow and use of the building," Béliard said.
"The aim is to create a coherent, multi-functional space that can be used for concerts, exhibitions, experimentation, and diverse activities exciting and encouraging curiosity while serving local needs."
"It is radical, innovative and beautiful"
Originally designed to store wood chips, the 28-metre high silo was one of the Aaltos earliest industrial works and helped define the a...