The Museum of Finnish Architecture’s small exhibition hall explores medieval roof trusses

The exhibition Deciphering Roof Trusses – Exploring Medieval Wooden Structures in the Museum of Finnish Architecture’s small exhibition hall presents the world of roof trusses hidden beneath medieval shingle roofs, as well as the work of the research team exploring them.

The wooden building heritage preserved from the Middle Ages in Finland is hidden within the roof structures of less than twenty stone churches. The roof trusses are a unique source material, telling about medieval wooden construction, and a part of our country’s medieval built cultural heritage – while also being still-functioning load-bearing structures. They have lasted for more than half a millennium and are a superb example of immeasurably long-lasting and sustainable building construction.

The exhibition in the Museum of Finnish Architecture’s small exhibition hall tells about medieval wooden structures as well as the aims of the research about them, including the everyday life of fieldwork and the scope of the work related to both building and society today. The exhibition also presents the project’s preliminary results, which are shown to be significant in the field of the research of medieval Finland.

The research team’s daily fieldwork involves climbing into structures made up of thousands of sturdy wooden parts while wearing full protective gear. The team spends a week in each church attic: each part of the structure is given a unique code, tacheometer measurements are taken, issues are discussed, photographs are taken, thousands of observations are recorded, and measured drawings are prepared. The team of ten researchers, clad in protective overalls and face masks, tend to surprise the attics’ usual inhabitants – jackdaws and pigeons – as it is rare for the attics to receive visitors in such numbers. The roof structures of the churches are exceptional masterpieces of architecture – yet they tell us so much more. From the structures one can get an understanding of how they were built, how the church building sites operated, and how the local community was involved in the construction process. They also tell about the worldviews and beliefs of the medieval person and how structural innovations that developed in Central Europe travelled to the northern periphery of Europe.

Exhibition team

The exhibition is curated by architect and Assistant Professor Panu Savolainen. The exhibition team additionally includes Ilari Aalto, Franziska Dalheimer, Marko Huttunen, Laura Laine, Jan Mustonen, Mia Puranen, Lauri Saarinen, Pauliina Saarinen, Antti Seppänen, Liisa Seppänen ja Miina Tolonen.

The exhibition is based on the research and restoration work on these structures carried out by Livady Architects since 2007, as well as Aalto University’s project Medieval Wooden Building Heritage in Finland: Roof Structures of Stone Churches, the Construction Process and Construction Innovations launched in 2020. The research team includes the researchers Ilari Aalto, Vivi Deckwirth, Antti Haikala, Marko Huttunen, Laura Laine, Marianna Niukkanen, Mia Puranen, Lauri Saarinen, Pauliina Saarinen, Panu Savolainen, Liisa Seppänen ja Miina Tolonen.

For more information and to download press images, please contact

Ilona Hildén  
Communications Planner, Museum of Finnish Architecture
+358 45 7731 0468  
ilona.hilden@mfa.fi  

Marja Rautaharju,  
Head of Exhibitions, Services and Concepts, Museum of Finnish Architecture
+358 46 9200 175  
marja.rautaharju@mfa.fi