The Artek Pavilion is the result of a unique partnership of UPM, renowned Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and Finnish design company Artek.
A trailblazer in applying ecological thinking to architectural design, Ban was inspired by UPM ProFi and sketched an exhibition space for Artek that would be built from the new wood-plastic composite.
Artek together with UPM first introduced the pavilion at the prestigious Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan, Italy. Thereafter it was reassembled for display in Helsinki, Finland, and at Design Miami, Florida in 2008.
The exhibition pavilion is made entirely from UPM ProFi wood plastic composite. A total of 16 kilometres of edge guards originally designed and manufactured for UPM’s own use were used in the construction of the pavilion. The pavilion’s flooring material was UPM ProFi Deck boards, the first UPM ProFi product designed for commercial distribution.