ARCHITECTURE + AIRBORNE European Travels: HELSINKI, FINLAND

Helsinki was our last stop of our 5 country adventure. Zach made some last minute changes to his plans and joined us for our Helsinki adventure. It was cold, not unlike our other destinations, and with only about 6 hours of daylight we managed to push through and see a lot in only a little bit of time.

Helsinki was founded by a Swede in 1550. It was originally along the mouth of the Vantaanjoki River to compete with Tallinn in the Baltic sea trade and moved to its current location during the 1600s. Russia took over Finland in 1809 and in 1917 Finland became independent. The Summer Olympics were held in Helsinki in 1952 and in 1995 it became an EU Member State. Helsinki was also chosen as the World Design Capital in 2012 and in 2014 it was awarded City of Design.

The coastline of Helsinki spans over 315 islands and the city is known for composer Jean Sibelius and designers Alvar Aalto, Eliel Saarinen, etc. It is currently home to around 600,000 residents. Fun Fact: The city has a huge bunny problem. Apparently they are overrunning Helsinki! Also, there are more women then men currently living there.

Saunas are a huge part of Finnish culture. Most hotels will have one. We were immediately directed to the location of ours at check in, unfortunately we were not there long enough to take advantage of it. Music is also a major part of the Helsinki lifestyle. Helsinki is also home a fantastic orchestra, opera and ballet. You can also find plenty of places to enjoy anything from pop to jazz to metal. Similar to the other Scandinavian countries, Helsinki is considered one of the most livable cities in the world, and I would have to agree.

As for weather, Helsinki is one of the coldest cities in the world. Around 51 consecutive days in winter are sunless and about 169 days a year are below 0 degrees Celsius.

Helsinki also had its own Architectural Map Guide, which meant that I had a lot to see!

Havis Amanda [1908]

Esplanadi

Helsinki Cathedral:
Carl Ludwig Engel [1852]

Senate Square

House of the Estates [Säätytalo]

North harbor

Stora Enso Head Office - Alvar Aalto

Uspenski Cathedral [1868]

Port of Helsinki - frozen

Finnair SkyWheel

Bryggeri Brewery - a good find by Zach

Bryggeri Brewery [I had some hot wine]

Kappeli for a drink

Helsingin päärautatieasema [Helsinki Central Railway Station]
deigned by Eliel Saarinen in 1909.

Railway Square

Red nose

The National Museum of Finland

The Parliament House

Narinkka square

Helsinki Jewish Congregation

View from Ateljee Bar

Replica of the mermaid statue
[original located in Copenhagen]

Alvar Aalto is considered to be one of the greatest names in modern architecture and design. He was born in Kuortane, Finland in 1898 [died 1976] and is known for his more humanistic approach to modernism. He studied architecture at Helsinki University of Technology [1916-1921] and started practicing in 1923. Some of his main projects in Helsinki are Finalndia Hall, House of Culture, auditorium of the University of Technology, Academic Bookshop, etc. He is also well known for his furniture, including the Aalto vase, Aalto stool, etc. He also worked under Eliel Saarinen [father of Eero Saarinen] for a period of time.

Academic Bookshop - Alvar Aalto

Helsinki is home to the Aalto House. Aino and Alvar Aalto completed their house in 1936 and was designed as both a family home and office. The office wing is painted in white with light brickwork. Functionalism can be seen in the placement of the windows. The residential area is composed of timber battens. It also has a large terrace facing south.

The house is now a museum, which is unfortunately closed on Sundays. That did not stop us from exploring the outside.

Aalto House

Finlandia Hall is another of Alvar Aaltos projects in Helsinki. It was completed in 1971 and is located in a park near Toolonlahti Bay. Aalto envisioned a large square opening to a concert and congress hall, opera house, art museum, city library and possibly other public buildings. Finlandia Hall was designed in 1962 and finished construction in 1972. The congress wing was designed later and completed in 1975.

"Finlandia Hall itself exhibits many of the ideas that Aalto experimented with during his lifelong preoccupation with monumental building construction. lt is not a functional creation, if the term is taken to signify a building whose forms are dictated solely by its practical functions and associated structural solutions. ln contrast it is a decoratively conceived composition of cubistic forms which constitutes a manyfaceted whole. None of these elements are, however, purely decorative; Aalto remained faithful to functionalism to the extent that he always sought a practical reason for his forms. The main idea of Finlandia Hall with its towershaped part and inclined roof rising over the whole structure was, as Aalto thought, to improve the acoustics of the concert hall by providing a resonance area overhead. The audience would not see it because of the suspended ceiling but it would be capable of creating the kind of acoustic effect that high churches possess. lt is unfortunate that this attempt proved in practice to be partially unsuccessful. Yet, the result still provides us with the visual satisfaction of its monumental exterior.

The interior also provides typical examples of many of Aalto’s hallmarks and motifs. The large asymmetrical auditorium is nearly void of right angles yet still tightly controlled with naturally harmonious and acoustically influenced wall reliefs and bold balcony outlines." [Finlandia Hall]

Finlandia Hall - Aalto

Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art was designed by Steven Holl. It was completed in 1998. According to the Steven Holl website

"The concept of Kiasma involves the building's mass intertwining with the geometry of the city and landscape which are reflected in the shape of the building. An implicit cultural line curves to link the building to Finlandia Hall while it also engages a "natural line" connecting to the back landscape and Töölö Bay. In the landscape plan, extending the bay up to the building will provide an area for future civic development along this tapering body of water, which also serves as a reflecting pool for Finlandia Hall and new development along the south edge of the water. The horizontal light of northern latitudes is enhanced by a waterscape that would serve as an urban mirror, thereby linking the museum to Helsinki's Töölö heart, which on a clear day, in Aalto's word's, "extends to Lapland." The changes in elevation proposed with the water extension and it shallow depth would allow for parking decks and/or highway linkages which are presently part of various planning considerations." [Holl]

Near the Museum of Contemporary Art is The Sanoma House by SARC. It is the first building with a double glazed high-performance envelope in Finland, as well as The Helsinki Music Center designed by LPR Architects

Left to right: The Sanoma House [SARC], Kiasma [Steven Holl],
The Parliament House [J.S. Siren], and
The Helsinki Music Center [LPR Architects]

Kiasma [Steven Holl]

The Sanoma House [SARC]

The Helsinki Music Center [LPR Architects]

Kamppi Chapel of Silence by K2S Architects is located on the south side of Narinkka square. Its curved wooden facade makes it a focal point in the square and it can be approached from all directions. The chapel is located in the wooden volume where light shines onto the curved walls from indirect toplights along the edge of the roof. The interior walls are made of alder planks where the exterior is made of horizontal finger jointed spruce wood planks.

Kamppi Chapel of Silence. Our hotel was to the right.

Kamppi Chapel of Silence

Temppeliaukion Church [Rock Church] was excavated directly into the existing rock and completed in 1969. It was designed by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen. Skylights of varying dimensions surround the copper dome which allows for natural light to enter the building. At the time people were against the design:

"In the newspapers the project was called a “rock mosque”, a “million mark church” and “devil defense bunker”. People wanted a traditional cathedral instead. A group of members of the Students' Christian Association thought that building a church in the world situation of the time was immoral" [Rock Church]

Now it is considered one of Helsinkis most popular attractions. It also holds many concerts and weddings.

Temppeliaukion Church [Rock Church]

Temppeliaukion Church [Rock Church] Walking on the rocks

Temppeliaukion Church [Rock Church]

The Sibelius Monument is located in the Sibelius park is a monument to commemorate the famous composer Jean Sibelius [1865-1957]. It was designed by Eila Hiltunen and was unveiled in 1967. The monument is made of welded steel and is in the form of organ pipes. There is also a bust of the composer on the rock next to the sculpture. The monument is composed of over 600 pipes and weights 24 tons