Ulf Mejergren crafts wooden landmark for Bergö island
Creative studio Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA) designs a landmark for the small island of Bergö, located off the coast of Vaasa in Finland’s northern Kvarken archipelago. In this region, where most residents speak Swedish as their first language, the islands form a geographical and cultural gradient between Finland and Sweden. The brief called for an artistic structure visible from a distance while also functioning as a local meeting place. The installation stands by a bathing beach adjacent to an old fishing settlement, a summer gathering spot for both residents and visitors. Positioned between land and sea, the site naturally accommodates social interaction and community activity.
The design draws inspiration from traditional wooden sea beacons once common along the Baltic coast, utilitarian structures reduced to essential forms, often painted in red or white. Echoing this heritage, Mejergren developed a timber pyramid-shaped structure with surfaces perforated by fish-shaped patterns in multiple sizes. These motifs reference the surrounding marine landscape and follow an internal visual rhythm: larger fish cutouts open their mouths when placed behind smaller ones, while smaller fish remain closed when positioned behind larger ones. The same pattern logic extends to the doorframe and detailing, integrating the motif throughout the design.
all images courtesy of Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA)
perforated wooden Bergö Beacon glows from within
For the construction, the design team at Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA) relied on the island’s talko tradition, a collective volunteer system through which residents regularly maintain shared infrastructure such as schools or public paths. Engaging the talko was both a practical and conceptual decision, ensuring local participation and embedding the project within the community from its inception. At night, light filters through the fish-shaped openings, turning the pavilion into a glowing wooden beacon. The projected patterns on the ground form an illuminated school of fish that visually merges with the adjacent sea. The structure serves less as a navigational lighthouse and more as a social landmark, a space for gathering, orientation, and continuity within the island’s cultural landscape. Future additions, including seating and a chandelier that reflects light within the interior, aim to extend the project’s role as a living artwork, evolving over time through continued community involvement.
Ulf Mejergren Architects (UMA) designs a wooden landmark for the island of Bergö in Finland’s Kvarken archipelago
the project occupies a site between land and sea, beside a small bathing beach and fishing settlement
the pyramid-shaped pavilion reduces its form to a simple geometric volume