An Architect's View of Helsinki Classic

Denmark has long regarded it as the epicenter of Scandinavian architecture. From the mid-century design master Arne Jacobson to the architect Bjarke Ingles today, Denmark seems to be at the forefront of the intellectual conversation of Nordic architecture. But for me, the architectural history of Finland is far more fascinating and unique with national character. Only just celebrated its centennial in 2017, Finland's architectural development has long been shaped by its former overlords: Russia and Sweden. It was not until the mid-19th century, during the national awakening period, that Finland developed its distinct architectural languages. True to its humble root, Finland has no ornament royal palace or fanciful castle. Instead, functions and practicality have been the backbone of Finnish architecture throughout the millennium.

Appropriately austere Lutheran Cathedral in the center of the town.

Unlike any other European capital, Helsinki has no medieval past and is among the youngest metropolis in Europe. As a result, Helsinki is free of the tangled old urban fabric you find in central Stockholm and Copenhagen. Helsinki could be somewhat of an anomaly among the major Finnish cities in many ways. To get a glance at pre-1830 Finland, one must take a trip to Tampere, Turku, or Porvoo. In particular, Porvoo and Rauma are especially popular due to their impressive collection of wooden buildings. In contrast, Helsinki's architecture initially appeared grand, forbidding, and somewhat impersonal. Particularly in and around Senate Square, the center of Helsinki, Russia's stamp on architecture is pronounced. Neoclassicism was in all the rage. Neoclassical white columns and pastel color walls around the big white Lutheran cathedral characterize the architectural ensemble. This place could have been easily mistaken for Saint Petersburg.

Even with the foreboding first impression, Helsinki was easy to fall in love with. After my first visit, it quickly became one of my favorite European capitals. Despite its grandiose boulevards and impeccable organization, Helsinki's meticulous cityscape masks the great architectural diversity. And with some insight, any visit to Helsinki would be more meaningful. But more importantly, it truly reflects Finland's recent history.

National Romantic Movement

For me, Helsinki first put its own stamp on architecture in the late 19th century, during which Helsinki was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland under the auspice of Tsarist Russia. Under the reign of Tsar Alexander II, Finland's economy and cultural policy were liberalized. Unlike elsewhere within the Russian Empire, Finland enjoyed a great deal of autonomy, including the institution of its own national parliament (diet). The idea of being Finnish was further fueled by nationalism sweeping Europe. To cater to the growing self-awareness of nationality and distinct Finnish identity, architects and craftsmen turned to works of medieval architecture and ancient artifacts to inspire a "national style."

Akseli Gallén-Kallela's mural of Kalevala, the Finnish national epic at the National Museum of Finland, — Akseli Gallén-Kallela's mural of Kalevala, the Finnish national epic at the National Museum of Finland,

In many ways, the development of National Romanticism is a reaction to the rapid industrialization and urbanization of the mid-19th century. To set themselves apart from the increasingly homogeneous industrial structures, the public architecture of the ages looked to the past to extrapolate the essence and character of the Finnish nation. Designers and architects sought inspiration not only from the architecture of the past but also from literature unique to the locals. One work, Kalevala, stood out as one of the most prominent literary works of the period. It is often regarded as the national epic of Finland and the greatest literary inspiration for Finnish ethnic identity. Unsurprisingly, symbols and characters from Kalevala began to appear as various visual and architectural motifs in public architecture in this period.

A great tribute to Kalevala can be found at the National Museum of Finland (Kansallismuseo). This museum building was designed by Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren, and Eliel Saarinen. The impressive fresco at the rotunda was Akseli Gallén-Kallela's work, which depicts Kalevala's key storylines. On the exterior, the building invokes the appearance of a church in the Finnish countryside. At the same time, it also incorporates elements from various fortresses in Finland. Under close inspection, you do find a nascent trace of modernism. Unlike medieval construction, every brick and masonry is precisely laid out and articulated. Beyond the eccentric styling and decorations, each window is perfectly aligned. This reconstitution of the historical style may sometimes seem inauthentic, but cultural authenticity may be a moot point for a nation without independence.

Enigmatic Helsinki Central Station by Eliel Saarinen.

Finland's best example of National Romantic architecture might be the Helsinki Central Station. Whether you arrive from the Finnish Rail or Finnair bus, this is likely the first major landmark foreign tourists encounter. Inaugurated in 1919, the station is another Eliel Saarinen creation and arguably the city's most unique landmark. The dramatic central archway and enigmatic giants flanking the entry seem pagan and futuristic. The glowing glass orbs these austere figures hold involve the dawn of the industrial age.

Like the rest of the building's exterior, these figures were carved out of Finnish granite. Saarinen's abstraction of Art Nouveau somehow blended effortlessly with his interpretation of Karelian wood carving. I had to admit this was the only Finnish building I knew of before my first visit to Helsinki in 2012. The station's popularity was evident, as it inspired numerous grand stations in the Americas, such as Cincinnati Union Station and Buffalo Central Terminal.

Behind the scheme, one of the most pivotal figures in developing this style is Henry Hobson Richardson, a prominent American architect. Combining the principles of Beaux-Arts planning with the meticulous refinement of Romanesque architecture, His pioneer works incorporating Romanesque style into the lexicon of American public architecture inspired the nationalist Nordic designers of the 19th century. One of Richardson's signature is the gradual justification of the facade. It was a technique that Nordic architects adopted with great effect. The low-angle sun casts a special glow on this texture gradation on many of these magnificent buildings.

Lars Sonck's imposing apartment block by Hakaniemi Market Square.

Of course, National Romanticism was not limited to grand civic architecture. All around Helsinki, we frequently encounter grand apartment buildings from this era. Some of the most whimsical buildings are hidden within residential neighborhoods like Kaartinkaupunki. In particular, the silly frog gargoyle at Agronomitalo at Fabianinkatu 17 is particularly delightful. This five-story apartment building is void of the heavy masonry materials typical for the National Romantic movement. Yet, with its asymmetrical design and eccentric roof, this yellow stucco building seemed to have captured the imaginations and admiration through generations.

Finnish Functionalism

One of architectural modernism's most overlooked epochs may be Functionalism. By its definition, the movement believes that the architectural design must solely reflect the function of the building. As a term, Functionalism could seem like somewhat of an oxymoron concept. By default, modernism has been modeled after Louis Sullivan's "Form follows Function," which has been the driving force behind modern architecture. Ironically, Functionalism within the prism of modern architecture has become somewhat of a form of aesthetic. According to Vitruvius, form, function, and aesthetics are three pillars of architecture. The role of appropriate aesthetics is often the most complicated issue in Modernism. The role of ornamentation has diminished after Adolf Loos's Ornament and Crime. Many often mistake Functionalism simply as an absence of ornaments.

Helsinki Olympic Stadium is undoubtedly my favorite building in the city.

My favorite building in Helsinki must be the city's Olympic Stadium. I stayed at a hostel within the stadium's structure during my first visit to the city. One of the most unique hostels in Europe, the hostel's main benefit for me is walking its elegant white tower every day. The design of the tower is both elegant and austere. Its simplicity and unusually slender profile stood out as a heroic symbol for sisu, a Finnish word for perseverance. From the distance, a sense of solitude and calm seems to embody a Finnish soul so perfectly. The white, smoothly rendered wall and rounded balcony make the tower glow in gentle warmth in the low Nordic sun. The architecture here is an abstraction of function to an extreme; it celebrates the beauty of simplicity and paring back the structure to its absolute bone.

Lasipalatsi, Crystal Palace, by Viljo Revell. — *Lasipalatsi*, Crystal Palace, by Viljo Revell.

Elsewhere in Helsinki, Functionalism architecture seems to permeate the city's fabric in the most unexpected places. From premier art museums to a random roadside newsstand, the distinctive architecture seems to have found its resonance in Finland. The no-nonsense Finns embrace this architectural style better than any other nation. Beyond the philosophical compatibility, its popularity may be attributed to the overlapping history between Finnish independence and the rise of Functionalism. The architecture of this period does not appear to be a relic of a distant past but a brick to the foundation of the Finnish soul.

Ode To Finnish Nature: Alvar Aalto & Beyond

Few architects could represent their country more fully than Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. As an architecture student, I learned about the work of Aalto, and yet never developed an appreciation of his body of works spanning from the 1930s to the 1970s. Like most architects in Finland at the time, he was trained in the architectural pedagogy of Nordic classicism. His career tracked the rapid industrial development of post-war Finland. While many of his fellow architects began adhering to a strict modernist philosophy with an Internationalist bend, Aalto began to approach modernism with a more naturalist lens. Today, he is most remembered for his respect for nature and the development of organic modernism. He elevated Finnish Functionalism above its stylistic boundary. For Aalto, the ultimate function of any building is to foster a sense of well-being for all users.

Trained in the neoclassical school, much of his works retain a faint reference to the classical rhythm on the exterior. This seems particularly the case in most of his public projects in Helsinki. While most of Aalto's most notable works are located away from Helsinki, the Finnish capital does contain many of his largest works. One of the most significant is the Finlandia Hall, the city's premier concert hall and conference center.

Completed just a few years before the death of Aalto, the massive building is clad with gleaming white marble, a material traditionally favored by Fascist regimes in Italy. But Aalto's mastery of geometry and use of sloped roofs transformed a seemingly anonymous building into one embodied with rhythm and movement. The large and angular protrusion above the roofline accommodates the large concert hall. The overall effects look like an iceberg perching gracefully above the arctic sea ice.

But I must confess that Aalto's architectural magic might be difficult to discern on first impression. Aalto often concealed the genius of his design in the interior and the rear of the building. In the case of Finlandia Hall, Aalto created insulating window walls, mimicking the waves crashing into the arctic ice sheets. But to fully appreciate many of Aalto's designs, one must head inside. As one of his last major buildings, Aalto infused his design philosophy into every aspect of the interior, from light fixtures to door hardware. Unfortunately, all visitors must sign up for an hour-long guided tour by the Alto Foundation or go to a concert to visit the interior.

Aalto designed a series of office and commercial buildings in the city center. Many of them seem quite unremarkable on the outside. To get a glimpse of his innovative interior, your best bet would be Academic Bookstore (Akateeminen Kirjakauppa). Centrally located between Stockmann Department Store and Esplanade Park, the bookstore is one of the very few commercial projects of Aalto that are easily accessible. The bookstore is dominated by a generous 3-story atrium, which appears quite business-like with gray marble and marble limestone. But the highlights of the space are the three crystalline skylights.

The protruding skylight seems to evoke the floating iceberg. These dramatic openings energize an otherwise austere space. Quite frankly, I was a little surprised such an ingenious design has not been copied more worldwide. The copper-clad exterior is gracefully integrated into the elegant historical street front along the Esplanade. The lining of Carrara marble around the window just added that bit of elegance and divinity to an otherwise monotone facade.

Headquarter building of Enso-Gutzeit Corporation.

As a superstar of Finnish design, Aalto enjoys a cult following even to this day. Notably, some of his greatest legacies as an architect might be his prolific works in product design. He co-founded Artek's furniture maker company in 1935 with his wife, Aino Aalto, and Maire Gullichsen. His most notable innovation is the ingenuous way of bending wood, a technique that enables the manufacturer of furniture with joinery needs. His revolutionary technique transformed furniture making in the post-world period. It is not a coincidence that IKEA has extensively ripped off the design of Aalto's works. Two of IKEA's best-selling products are near replicas of his Stool 60 and Chair 401. Furniture aside, Aalto also made his mark in the Finnish glass industry. His curvaceous glass vases, now manufactured by Iittala, pay respect to the shape and fluidity of countless lakes in the country.

As an architect, I am embarrassed to say that during my two visits to Helsinki, I did not get to visit the top two premier Aalto sites in Helsinki: Aalto's personal home and Aalto's architectural workshop in the Munkkiniemi neighborhood. Undoubtedly, a guided tour of both sites in Helsinki is the best way to understand Aalto's contribution to organic modernism.

Within Helsinki, The Finnish love of nature is best exemplified by the Temppeliaukio Church by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen. Known colloquially as the Rock Church, the entire structure was constructed from the bedrock and capped by an enormous shallow dome. The dome is ringed by continuous skylights, radiating in a ring of soft diffused light; concentric rings of copper lined it. The juxtaposition between the finely crafted dome and the exposed glacial rock face elevated the sensory experience. The design concept was so radical then that the Suomalainen brothers did not even include the naked rock face in their competition drawings out of fear of raising objections from the juries. Interestingly, the irregular interior makes Temppeliaukio a top concert venue in the city.

Helsinki Arch - 15 (1).jpg — Temppeliaukio Church.

Today, Temppeliaukio Church is the most popular tourist destination in Helsinki. But at the time of its construction, the design was universally condemned because of its unconventional design. Like many daring modern designs, the church was controversial and much-maligned by the locals. Many considered the semi-underground structure a painful reminder of the defensive air-raid bunkers during World War II. It was remarkable how much of a draw the church has become. During our most recent visit in 2019, the church was mobbed by endless tourists. It was a dramatic departure from my peaceful and contemplative visit in 2012. Perhaps a visit during the off-season could be a blessing after all.

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An Architect's View of Helsinki Classic

National Romantic Movement

Finnish Functionalism

Ode To Finnish Nature: Alvar Aalto & Beyond

The New Architecture of Helsinki

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