Finland: Architecture

Finland is well known for its design and architecture, with it being inspired by both functionalism and classicism. The early 20th century was renowned for its National Romantic movement. 

Art Nouveau
A lot of the Art Nouveau architecture was inspired by Karelianism, which was a movement derived from the infamous Finnish literary work Kalevala. It is a book of Finnish folklore and mythology, and has inspired many of Finland's place names and architecture. 

Railyway Station
This is the most visited building in Finland, with around 200,000 visitors daily. It was completed in 1919 by architect Eilel Saarinen and is a prominent in the Art Noveau movement in Finland. There is a clock tower which is a main feature of the station, although this was damaged in a fire in 1950. There are also statues outside of the station holding lamps.

House Facades

There are several neighbourhoods in Helsinki where you can see lots of Art Nouveau apartments such as Katajanokka, Eira and Kruunuhaka and you can see buildings like these.

This is Huvilakatu street, and the accented towers add to the romanticism and character of the residential areas.

Pohjola Insurance Company

This is famous for being heavily inspired by the Art Nouveau movement architecturally. It can be seen here in the stairs of the building with the curved forms, and asymmetrical shapes.

Kallio Church

It was designed by Lars Sonck and built between 1908-12. It is renowned for its representation of Finnish Art Nouveau and the National Romanticism period.

Ice Architecture
In Lapland there is no shortage of snow and ice, and so there are buildings, hotels, a chapel, restaurants and even a sauna made out of it. ICIUM Wonderland is a project where sculptors come and create works out of snow and ice, and is only open in Winter. 

This is the Helsinki Cathedral.

This is an ice sauna.

And an ice bar.

Porvoo
This is the second oldest town in Finland, being around 800 years old. It is very popular with Finnish artists, both living here and taking inspiration from the town. It is known for its red painted houses - which were painted to mark the arrival of the king of Sweden, Gustav III. They are a big attraction of those who visit Porvoo. It is also famous for its interior design shops, with people travelling all over Finland to visit them.

Museum of Finnish Architecture
The museum has two locations in Helsinki - 'a neo-renaissance building in the inner city Design District of Kaartinkaupunki and a wooden villa in Kaivopuisto'. It has big collections of photographs, drawings, slides, documents and models of architecture. It has around 500,000 drawings and 85,000 photographs. Drawings are included by designers such as Eilel Saarinen, Lars Sonck, Armas Lindgren, Aarne Ervi and Viljo Revell.

One of the exhibitions at the moment is Decades of Finnish Architecture 1900-70.

'The exhibition explores the history of building in the 20th century against a background of Finnish society, taking into account economic, political and technological developments. These factors have always influenced not only the volume of building but also the architectural shapes. Phenomena connected with construction are viewed from a broad perspective, and from larger to smaller; from urban planning to façade materials and interior decoration.'

Alvar Aalto
Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer in the 20th century. Not only would he design the buildings, but he and his first wife Aino would also design some of the furniture inside. His wife died in 1949 however, and he remarried three years later. This included things like lamps, furniture and glassware. He also designed his own museum the Alvar Aalto Museum. His style during the first half of the 20th century was Nordic Classicism, which then changed dramatically to the more functional aesthetics of the International Style. Around 300 of the buildings he designed were made, mainly in Finland. He also went through a stage of Experimental methods which were influenced by the Bauhaus, where he had regular meetings.

Villa Mairea

Finlandia Hall

Finlandia Hall is a concert hall which also hosts congresses, and Altar designed it in 1961. It was completed in 1971.

Helsinki University of Technology

This is an image of the auditorium which Alto designed, and is iconic. It opened in 1849.

Kiasma 
This is Finland's Museum of Contemporary Art, which has a theatre, exhibitions and tours.
This is their website which I think reflects the museum as it is modern and simplistic.

They also have guided tours, one being about architecture showing the importance of that in Finland.

Here is another section on architecture, showing its significance.

This is the museum.

This is inside the museum.

Another shot looking up at the museum.

A different angle outside of the museum.

This is one of the walkways inside the museum.

From all these pictures it is clear that the museum is very modern.

Seurasaari Island
This is one of the main attractions of Finland, it is an Island off Helsinki. These photos are all different houses that are on the island, and to me they clearly show the rustic, outdoorsy lifestyle that exists in Finland. I think they work well with how nature is such a big part of Finland, as they are all made out of wood and with forest surroundings.

Finland: Nature

There are around 188,000 thousand lakes in Finland, and 86% of the land is forests. This makes it full to the brim with nature and wildlife.

Parks

Finnish National Park
National Parks are dotted all around Finland, with 37 of them. There are many different activities to do in Winter and Summer. A lot of parks also have cabins you can rent out, as well as nature trails, snowmobiles, canoeing, hiking and climbing. There are so many national parks because Finland cares about the preservation of their forests and heritage.

Nuuksio National Park
Even though it is located in the country's capital Helsinki, you can still be surrounded by forests and lakes. You can go cycling, climbing, riding and berry picking.

Forest

The Finnish people love forests, and it's a good job seen as 86% of Finland is forestation. This is a Finnish view of the forests:

There is something magical about the forest. The Finnish soul has always been linked with the forest. The green colour is calming; the gentle rustling of the leaves and pine needles is like music. Finns feel good in the forest. Not alone, not lost – the forest provides protection and peace.

Autumn

The colours in Autumn are called ruska, and as there are so many forests in Finland, the trees are very colourful and create great photo opportunities in the landscapes.

Leaf peeping is something Finns do to see all of the leaves, and it is a very short phenomenon, only lasting two weeks. The further North you go, the more colourful they are. The views are very relaxing and therapeutic, and it is usually in September.

Moose

Moose

There are over 80,000 moose in Finland, and they live all over the country in the forests. Unlike reindeers, you won't see these as much because they don't like to interact with humans, and stay hidden in the forests. 

However, they have been to know to be a nuisance on roads and a collision with one of these can be fatal. When a car hits a moose, the body usually goes through the windscreen crushing the front passengers.

They eat many different plants that can be found in the forests of Finland, and prefer cooler climates which makes Finland the perfect habitat for them. They are herbivores, and need nearly 10,000 calories per day.

They are known to be quite aggressive creatures, especially during mating season or when they feel threatened. Although they don't usually attack humans, they have injured more humans than bears and wolves put together. There only animal predators are wolves and bears, but they are capable of killing these.

Bears

Brown Bear
This is the national animal in Finland, and has traditionally been a sacred animal. There are over 200 different names for the bear in the Finnish language, showing its significance. Although they are found in all areas of Finland, they are most common in the East and Lapland.

Sulo

Sulo Karjalainen  lives in Lapland, and since he was a child has been close to animals. Now, his home is an orphanage for bears whose parents have been killed.

Sulo Karjalainen - The bear man by finnywing