אדריכלות ישראלית

Architecture of Israel #

115

November

2018

Contemporary Finnish Architecture

page

english readers

As known, most of the agreements signed

during WWII were not honored: Germany

attacked Russia in 1941 and Finland, who

suffered from her humiliating surrender

agreement following the “Winter War”,

acted as a key factor in the siege on

Leningrad.

The cruel war that lasted 105 days took a

high price on both sides, but Finland was

forced to give up a tenth of her territory

and about a fifth of her industrial capacity

in favor of the Soviets, who demanded

from the small state that had just lost

91,000 soldiers, compensation of 600

million dollars – an enormous sum at the

time which left fatal demographic and

economic damage.

It is important to note that all this took

place after the Finnish people lost 30,000

citizens in the civil war of 1917 and,

consequently, suffered from starvation

and economic depression from which

they only recovered in 1925.

After the war, Finland had to re-locate

about 12% of her population while,

in the background, there was intense

immigration for fear of the threatening

shadow of Stalin, who had not forgotten

Finland’s participation in the war alongside

Germany.

However, Finland utilized the situation

guests of the season

finnish architecture

and the winter war

Bonnie Evans, Jerry Livson

Signed between Hitler and Stalin in 1939, the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact has greatly influenced

the ever-struggling Finnish nation as opposed to their recent impressive, social and cultural

achievements.

According to the pact, Europe was divided into two influential regions whereby the Soviet Union

regained control over the Baltic sea nations – Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Finland, and was

ostensibly left alone during the war. However, while until 1941, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia

completely lost their independence, Finland maintained her sovereignty, and although taking a

neutral position in the war, actively supported Germany.

Their main excusewas that most of their military commanders had received their training inGermany,

who was not only an ally, but a model for their own established republic. Moreover, between the

nations’ leaders there were historical family ties – Prince Hans Friedrich Karl was Kaiser Wilhelm

II’s brother-in-law.

and paid her debt with ships, ice-breakers,

and locomotives as a lever for improving

her industrial development.

The Finnish landscape (apart from the

mountainous region in the north), consists

of 60,000 lakes and islands, 35% of which

is covered with swamps and forests that

cannot be populated.

And thus, most of the Finnish population is

mainly concentrated in 4 cities - Helsinki,

Tampere, Turku and Oulu – the only one

in north central Finland.

The similarity of these cities stems

from the fact that most public buildings,

such as the cathedral, municipality, and

government, were designed during the

first half of the 19th century by German

architect, Karl Ludwig Engel, who was

in fact responsible for Finland’s entire

design system.

Significantly, until the establishment of the

republic, Finland was under Soviet rule

for 110 years following Swedish rule for

700 years – a fact that greatly influenced

the nature of the Finnish people,

socially, culturally, and consequently -

architecturally.

In this context, Finnish architecture is

based on a fine balance between the

strict Neoclassical principles assimilated

in Engel's urban planning and the organic

approach of Alvaro Aalto, who left his

mark on generations of architects.

However, it is important to note that

parallel to Aalto who gained international

acknowledgment as one of the most

important Modernists, there were other

architects who levered an intelligent

assimilation of precise German detailing

within the free Finnish capacity for

improvisation.

Prominent among them are Eliel and Eero

Saarinen, trail blazers in their country,

who designed unique buildings in Europe

and, later on, in the USA. Among their

projects are the Finnish Pavilion built by

Eliel Sarrinen for the 1900 Exposition

Universelle, Paris, followed by the

Helsinki National Museum and Railway

Station, the city Tallinn in Estonia, parts

of Budapest, municipalities, churches and

concert halls.

Eero Saarinen - Eliel’s son, was raised

and educated in the USA and, after

completing his architectural education,

designed world-famous projects like the

TWAAirport Center, the arched gateway in

St. Louis, the Kresge Auditorium (at MIT),

the Swiss Air Force Museum in Zurich,

and many other trail blazing structures,

which later inspired the development of

digital architecture.