FINE FINNISH.As the old century came to an end so did Finland's presidency of the EU, and the Deutsche Architekturmuseum in Frankfurt marked the event with a retrospective of Finnish architecture as part of their Architecture of the 20th Century series. What made the architecture of a little country on the edge of the Arctic Circle Arctic Circle, imaginary circle on the surface of the earth at 66 1-2°N latitude, i.e., 23 1-2° south of the North Pole. It marks the northernmost point at which the sun can be seen at the winter solstice (about Dec. , with a very difficult language and small population, so internationally influential? This exhibition of 140 projects, organized in partnership with Helsinki's Finnish Architecture Muscum, offers some clue to the appeal of Finnish design. Freestanding plywood columns, like trees in a forest, support poster size photographs, supplemented by rows of models and transparencies set in light tables. Elegant economy, clarity and simplicity prevail. As demonstrated by Finland's pavilion at the 1900 Paris World Fair, architecture was part of a new national identity, independent of Sweden or Russia and related to geography, resources and climate. Timber, paper, shipbuilding and engineering were the bases for industrialization industrialization Process of converting to a socioeconomic order in which industry is dominant. The changes that took place in Britain during the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and 19th century led the way for the early industrializing nations of western Europe and . The infrastructure of a nation was built in Neo-Classical urban style, with fine details subsumed under systems of proportion - later easily adapted, with vertical filigree filigree (fĭl`ĭgrē), ornamental work of fine gold or silver wire, often wrought into an openwork design and joined with matching solder and borax under the flame of the blowpipe. and stepped-back terraces, for New World skyscrapers jalmar Castren, like Peter Behrens Noun 1. Peter Behrens - German architect known for his simple utilitarian factory buildings (1868-1940) Behrens in Germany and Auguste Perret Auguste Perret (February 12, 1874 - February 25, 1954) was a French architect and a leader and specialist in concrete construction. In 2005 his post-WWII reconstruction of Le Havre was declared by UNESCO one of the World Heritage Sites. He was born in Ixelles, Belgium. in France, pioneered reinforced concrete reinforced concrete Concrete in which steel is embedded in such a manner that the two materials act together in resisting forces. The reinforcing steel—rods, bars, or mesh—absorbs the tensile, shear, and sometimes the compressive stresses in a concrete . Selim A. Lindqvist's Helsinki streetcar streetcar, small, self-propelled railroad car, similar to the type used in rapid-transit systems, that operates on tracks running through city streets and is used to carry passengers. depot, electricity and gas works a manufactory of gas, with all the machinery and appurtenances; a place where gas is generated for lighting cities. - Raymond. See also: Gas , are of this early founding period (1908-14). Eliel Saarinen was the first Finnish architect who dreamt of the city as an integrated work of art and commerce. As a planning expert, he was invited to Tallin and Budapest, and won second prize in Canberra in 1911. Estates for industrial workers (Sigurd Frosterus, Martti Valikangas), cult ural buildings (Uno Ullberg Uno Ullberg (born 1879 in Viipuri, died 1944 in Helsinki) was a famous Finnish architect. Was the first to introduce to Viipuri the important international tendency in architecture known as Functionalism. , Erik Bryggman Erik Bryggman (born 7 February 1891, Turku - died 21 December 1955, Turku) was a Finnish architect. He studied architecture at Helsinki University of Technology, completing his studies in 1916. ) and a parliament building (Johan Sigfrid Siren) occupied Finnish architects at the beginning of the twentieth century. Following great discussion, the first Modernist church was built in Nakkila in 1937 by Erkki Huttunen. Erik Bryggman's work incorporated the main characteristics of Finnish architecture: respect for nature, use of unadorned, site specific materials, rational use of standardized parts and construction systems, and a social view of architecture as the provision of places in which people did not feel subjugated sub·ju·gate tr.v. sub·ju·gat·ed, sub·ju·gat·ing, sub·ju·gates 1. To bring under control; conquer. See Synonyms at defeat. 2. To make subservient; enslave. . For his estate of 90 family units for a shipping company, Turun Laivateollisuus in Pansio, he developed a timber system of house types based on a four-room plan. The landscaping of private gardens, terraces and inner courts set contemporary standards. His own house, the Villa Nuuttila (1949), built on a rocky coastal site, with functions separated out into three pavilions on different levels, clad in timber and tiles, rough plaster, and a slate chimney wall, is one of his most important late works. Using traditional techniques, it is at the same time modern. Aalto and Eliel Saarinen are Finland's most famous architects. Saarinen emigrated to the US after coming second in the 1922 Chicago Tribune building competition. Aalto spanned the century with an emotive architecture of curves and folds which arose out of German and Scandinavian interpretations of Modernism, allied to building materials which now meet emerging environmental concerns, and a philosophy of nature and humanism. In contemporary Finland the public client is not yet extinct. Public and corporate buildings maintain high aesthetic and construction standards. Architects such as Alfred Berger, Tina Parkkinen ((Finnish Embassy, Berlin), Pekka Helm (Nokia HQ), andJan Soderlund, AnttiMatti Siikala (Sanoma HQ), Mikko Heikkinen and Markku Komonen (Science Centre, Vantaa, and European Film School in Denmark), and Jyrki Tasa (Kuhmo Library) are carrying forward a technologically refined Moderhism. Can this have something to do with longer architectural training? Kenneth Frampton has nominated four countries - Finland, France, Spain and Japan - as world leaders in architectural quality. In Finland's case, he sees success as a result of close collaboration between architects, an intelligent press, the Museum, professional institutions and an informed public. |
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