Norsu huonessa

Sibeliustalon metsähalli: from Finland summer 08.

Actually I do have a couple of architecture related things to mention come to think about it. First is the Puuinfo Puupäivä in Lahti at the Sibelius Hall on Wednesday (11.11) which we are going to go along to. A good excuse to see the concert hall again if nothing else (see this old post for more). If I manage to understand any of it I will let you know!

Then next week is a (free) two day seminar series called 'Innovations: Architect and Engineer' organised by the Alvar Aalto Akatemia/Foundation and TKK. Speakers include Kenneth Frampton and Iain Ritchie, amongst others, so about three-quarters of the progamme will be in English.

After our visit to EMMA we also made a trip out to Otaneimi to use their arkkitehtuurin kirjasto their for some research Konna is doing for work. Then the next day I met up with a friend at my favourite cafe who happens to be studying at TKK at the moment, and we discussed how strange/repressive it must be for Finnish architecture students to study in Aalto designed buildings in part of the soon to be Alvar Aalto (super-)University; the elephant in the room if you like. Mind you apparently they still get frustrated about the quality/availability of seminar rooms just like any other architecture department I have heard of - but I bet they wouldn't swap with the this school in here... (and believe me these are flattering images if my memories of 1988-94 are to be trusted!)

outside/inside TKK: architecture tour 04/09.

Timeless expressions

My other half has noted that I make LOADS of spelling mistakes when I write (in English that is - as not sure he would find the Finnish mistakes - yet!)... This was also pointed out to me by a good friend in Uk (who thinks that her spelling is perfect... and that everyone lives in a perfect world of spelling!!!) - My response is: 'Annetaan kaikkien kukkien kukkia' (=Let all flowers to bloom) and continue blog writing even with not so perfect language skills :) A colleague of mine here in Finland has pointed out to me many times that I should write a book (ha ha - there you go you spelling chekers!) and has already figured out the name of the book & my writer name. It goes like this: Imperfect life of Joan Coupé. So if one day YOU - English friend of mine in Uk walk along the street & see Imperfect life of Joan Coupé in the window of Borders, be happy as the book is for you :) Check all you want - there will be millions of spelling mistakes - unless the editor has managed to find them all!

This brings me to (who knows how) the image above - Timeless expressions, which is the Aalto exhibition at Vellamo Maritime Centre in Kotka and to the story told on a short film re: Aalto's pants... 'Usually Aalto wore quite elegant black shorts at the summer place of the family when some visitors (even reporters & famous folk from abroad) came around. One day he was wearing dirty, baggy trousers when some important visitors were scheduled to arrive to the Muuratsalo experimental house. The wife of Aalto's pointed out this (which might have been a mistake) as Aalto is said to have started loudly protesting against this making a point that he wore exact same pair at the Paris World Fair many years back... also taking (used) handkerchiefs from his pockets throwing them around in front of the visitors saying that he used the handkerchiefs at the fair too'. Nice... So be careful before you comment on other peoples spelling as I might start throwing deliberate/random midtakes everywhere and your time will go in correcting them! HA - there you go.



Models of Aalto's small houses made by students - I can spot Villa Mairea in there... + my friend's face - can you?

P.S. It's worth your while visiting the exhibition if you are near Kotka anyways this summer. The film is funny & informative (but shown on a miniscule screen). The models are interesting too... Otherwise the usual is on show - Remember though that Sunila is very near Kotka, so pop in there too.
P.P.S. I spelt Morrissey wrong - hmmm...

Architecture Corner 04/09 [updated]

Otaneimi Kapeli: From helsinki architecture tour 04/09

We haven't had an Architectural Corner for a while (Konna keeps threatening to write about various things, but...) but we are still (re)discovering new & old buildings around Finland and Helsinki in particular. The other week we combined our new found love of free-loading activities with architecture and took advantage of an architectural tour of Helsinki (and Espoo) organised by Suomen Rakennustaiteen Museo and ??? in conjunction with their lecture series. (See here for a map and album)

Starting at the museum we stowed away joined a coach load of foreign students and miscellaneous hangers-on on what was a glorious (if chilly) spring day. First stop was Puu-Käpylä  - an area of model worker's housing built in the early 20's, constructed from timber - hence the puu - (in this case solid squared-off logs and timber weather boarding with 'classical' details) this is an example of the Garden City approach to sub-urban housing, and one which is now much desired. We then strayed into the adjacent so-called 'other olympic village' (housing built for the abortive 1940 summer games), popped into the local church and back on the bus.

Next was Viikki - an area we have visited before (and I said I would write about... never mind), although this time we skipped JKMM's Viikin Kirkko (see Sept'08) and looked instead at the award winning 90's timber housing area (by Arkkitehtuuritoimisto Mäki-Marttunen KY) and the Infokeskus Korona (which as far as I can work out is the university campus library) which we hadn't seen, and is by ARK-house who also designed the nearby Viikin Normaalikoulu school.

From there we headed to the airport for lunch. No not Vantaa , but Malmi.  Now used for private and light aircraft this was the original Helsinki International airport, (previously flying to Helsinki meant coming by flying-boat or float-plane) built in 1936 but replaced in 1952 by Vantaa in time for the Olympics. The buildings are still evocative of their era and have been recognised by the DoCoMoMo workgroup.

We then swung back west. Stopping off at Myyrmäen Kirkko - and an ideal day to see Leiviskä's church, which could be described as a poem in buff brick about light. Then the Peitilä designed expressive-modernist housing at Suvikumpu, which could easily be from the last decade rather than the 60's. From there we headed into Tapiola - another (more recent) example of Garden City planning and development, were we look briefly at the central ice rink 'reflecting pool', swimming pool, walked past the hotel that Konna's office had been working on, then a quick peek into the a delicate 'brutalist' modernist concrete church by Ruusuruori (who also originally designed the WeeGee-talo building for the Weilin & Göös Print Works

Now we headed towards TKK (Helsinki University of Technology) with it's Aalto masterplan and main buildings, including the well known auditorium complexe.  Again this is somewhere I have seen before (actually I think it was the first Aalto building I ever went inside, back in 2004), but is well worth a second look with the benefit of having visited, studied and even blogged some of his other buildings.

Staying on campus, we finished with a very simple, but rather lovely building. Otaneimi Chapel, by Heikki & Kaija Siren, creating an entrance courtyard from unworked timber screens, and using the backdrop of the forest and an external crucifix to bring nature into the building through it's picture windows. The chapel space is reached through a low vestibule, and to one side where no direct view out is possible, so keeping the effect of light, height and view as a surprise on entry into the timber, mono-pitched volume. An old trick - but one that works. I had to double check that this was really built in 1957, as it still seems very 'modern' and fresh today.

Happy Birthday Mr. Hugo Wave...

From Favourites

Aalto means 'wave' in Finnish.  Which is appropriate for an architect who brought sinuous, wave-like, fan forms to soften and humanise rational, rectilinear, Modernism. His first name was actually Hugo - maybe he liked the alliteration from his middle name more...

Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto. Syntyi 1898, kuoli 1976.

22 - Joululaulut II

More impenetrable Finnish 'christmas songs' for you ulkomalainen I'm afraid... this time from Vesa-Matti Loiri. 

Another week - another (in theory) suomen joulu flavoured musical odessy. VML ('Vesku') is a bit of an institution here, an actor an singer with a deep, gravely voice and dramatic/emotional delivery, who scored nil point at the 1980 eurovision song contest.  Musically... well let's just say at one point we were dangerously close to the theme from 'Bergerac': accordion, bass, and Mark Knopfler-esque guitar nooddling. So not really my cup of tea, coffee, or any other hot beverage (although he does have a fine voice, and I did like the use of a modern, amplified kantele in one song). So mielenkintoista...  is the best I could do when asked afterwards what I though. It's a shame that he didn't have the more orchestral backing shown in the video, because the setting would have suited it.

Oh yes, the setting - the reason I didn't put up to much resistance to seeing either him or the diddily-dingers last week. In a word: Aalto.

VPL VML was performing at Finlandia Talo Aalto's 'white phase' carrera-marble-clad concert hall which, although we had a lightning tour a few months ago, I wanted to experience in operation; and Rasvaton (whatever) were at Aalto's 50-year old 'red-phase' Kulttuuritalo - which won for me in terms of the flow of the architecture, clever canopy, and intimacy of the trademark asymmetric fan auditorium.  I could write lots more on both, but it has been all said before better than I could...

From Arts Night to Dark Knight

even the statues get into the spirit of Taiteiden Yö

You would think that with all this time on our hands there would be lots of time for writing blog posts, but there seems to be so much going on at the moment I hardly know where to start.  I haven't written about Sibelious concert hall, Koli hiking or some incidents at Kesälahti; or our tour around WeeGee centre in Espoo; and already we are going off again to Kotka next week. Obviously getting distracted by Facebook has nothing to do with it.

Last night in Helsinki was Artist's Night (or Art Night or Night of Arts: Taiteiden Yö in Finnish anyway), basically a bunch of free, loosely 'arts' related events in the city. This ranged from a concert for 30,000 in Senate Square, free entry to museums and galleries, book signings and poetry readings, supposedly themed around 1968. And (for some) an excuse for a Friday night piss up. We took in the Anton Corbijn photography exhibition at the Taidemuseo Tennispalatsi (Tennis Palace Art Gallery) - probably best know for his work with musicans such as U2 and Depeche Mode, and says himself that he started photography as a way into the music world to meet his heroes back in the 70's.  We then headed over to the Finlandia concert hall, taking a peek at the huge hole in the ground that will be the new Musiikitalo (music house) on the way past. This is coincidently another famous product of the 70's, for a free (although shortened) backstage tour around Alvar Aalto's masterpiece (without any of the Carrera marble cladding dropping off and hitting anyone). This is in effect a listed building, which causes some problems for the management dealing with imperfect acoustics (the ceiling of the main concert hall being replaced, leaking roofs and the aforementioned marble cladding (replaced a few years ago) as well as the entrance being moved from the original front some years ago - which is due to be rectified in the next few years. In fact this will all sound eerily familiar to those familiar with the travails and renovation of the Royal Festival Hall (south bank centre) in London.

Finlandia talo

After our daily architecture fix, and a quick lohikeito (salmon soup) on the terrace, we walked through the busy streets, glimpsing various musicians, performers, dancers (in shop windows) to the Akateeminen Kirjakauppa (Academic Bookshop) - part of the Stockmanns department store, reputedly Europe's largest (in terms of number of titles at least, with over 450000) and, as it happens, another white marble Aalto design, with it's atrium and inverted, crystalline, roof light.  Here were various book signings, readings, and 15% discount on paperbacks until midnight. So while Bore & Pikka had Fingerpori books signed I picked up Bad Monkeys (Matrix meets Silence of the Lambs according to the blurb); and considering a paperback might cost €14 (about £11) any discount is well worth it!

Skirting the packed Senate Square we ended the night with a beer/cider by the harbour.

Back while we were in Tennispalatsi (and I was surfing facebook on the free wireless connection there) we picked up tickets for Dark Knight, so we'll find out tonight if Heath Ledger's final performance is as good as everyone says.

Architects on holiday: Aalto to Asuntomessut

One of the curses of being an architect is that it is pretty hard to get away from the stuff (architecture that is) unless you go camp in the wilderness somewhere - but even the tent is an ingenious tensile fabric structure... Well getting out of the urbs will come later, but on this little cultural tour of westen Finland we managed to pack in plenty of architectural sightseeing.

First off (Monday) we stopped in Seinäjoki to see not the Tango festival, but the central civic area - church, library, town hall, theatre and town square all to the masterplan and design of Alvar Aalto between 1951-87. The region is known for it's flat plains, so it interesting that a striking feature of the design (after the 65m high church tower) are the artificial hills for the church lawn and town hall.

Seinäjoki Town Hall with Church of the Plains behind

Seinäjoki Town Hall, Aalto Civic Centre

Tuesday we visited the Asuntomessut (housing fair) in Vassa. This is a annual event showcasing a housing development, from one-off architect designed houses, to apartments and family homes. This years site, a curving waterfront development, has pushed the balance towards the one-off houses after last years larger and more sub/urban site. To be honest there was only one house that really stood out, but some of the more modest houses (in sixes or fours to a court) where also very impressive compared with the typical UK development. I should also say the site was packed with families, not just 'trade' visitors like us.

The fancy bit of the Asuntomessut, Vasaa

Our favorite house, somewhere behind the crowds...

Thursday: After the visit to the folk festival (see separate post) the night before, we went back to the Folk Art Museum in Kaustinen and got a look round, including the auditorium buried in the rock of the hill side. Completed in 1998 it shows the Finns have no fear of using contemporary architecure to give a home to their traditional culture, and was described as a 'Finnish Acropolis' in AR.

Kaustinen Folk Art Centre

After the lull for the Jazz we find the smaller Lomas (holiday home) exhibition outside Pori on Sunday.

Lomas (holiday home) exhibition house, near Pori

But the best is saved to last, as on Monday we head to Noormarkku for a guided tour of Villa Mairea. Built in 1939 for the Gullichsen's this is seen as one of Aalto's main works (with Aino, Alvar's wife contributing considerably), and doesn't dissapoint 70 years later - rivalling the Picasso's kept on it's walls as a work of art. We can only see the main 'public' reception rooms as the family still use the house, but these are so rich in subtle detail an hour is easily filled.

Villa Mairea, Noormarkku (not my video BTW, we weren't even allowed to take photos inside)

I suppose the real curse is on the non-architects (sorry Bore) who get dragged round various buildings, and put up with extensive photographic essays of obscure modernist sites... 

Well you could always go camping instead.