Fabianinkatu 17 is a

national romantic Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

building in central

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. Built in 1900–1901 to a design by the architectural firm of Gesellius, Lindgren and Saarinen, it was originally a block of flats, but became increasingly used for offices and was for many years known as the Doctors' House ( fi, Lääkäreiden talo). In 1953 Agronomiliitto, the Finnish Association of

Agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...

s, bought it, and it is now called Agronomitalo (Agronomy House).

Building

The building is at the corner of Fabianinkatu and Pohjoinen Makasiinikatu; at this point, Fabianinkatu forms the east side of Kasarmitori (Barracks Square). In 1898 the brother's Axel, Georg and Ernst Ehrnrooth bought the site, which was then occupied like much of the area by a row of two-storey wooden buildings. Georg and Ernst Ehrnrooth subsequently sold their shares to two physicians, Axel Holmberg and Wilhelm Zilliacus. The building was then commissioned from Gesellius, Lindgren and Saarinen by a housing association and built-in 1900–1901. It was one of the first blocks of flats in the area. Its national romantic-art nouveau style pioneered indigenous Finnish residential architecture and influenced later buildings by Grahn, Hedman & Wasastjerna and Toril and Nyberg. It rises five storeys, clad in rough yellow plaster. There is no cornice, but the main façade, facing the square, is interrupted asymmetrically by

oriel window An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window is most commonly found pro ...

s of various shapes and a long balcony. The main façade and the corner, which is formed by geometric shapes, are ornamented with grotesques moulded in smooth plaster. The façade facing Pohjoinen Makasiinikatu is rhythmically pierced by bay windows.Moorhouse, Carapetian and Ahtola-Moorhouse, pp. 136–37. The roof is steeply pitched and again asymmetrical, with gables of varying heights; the architects' original reddish tiles have been replaced with copper. The building was also unconventional in its interior layout. On each upper floor were two large apartments, , which ran from the square to the courtyard and included professional space; doctors, in particular, were envisaged as residents. The rooms were large and well-lit and originally contained custom furniture designed by

Louis Sparre Pehr Louis Sparre af Söfdeborg (3 August 1863 – 26 October 1964) was a Swedish painter, designer and draughtsman, most noted for his early work in the Finnish national romanticism and jugend styles. He also competed in the individual and ...

and others. The interior was decorated with artistically carved wood using folk motifs. There are murals by and

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the zo ...

and ceramic heating stoves. The building also included smaller flats. The building attracted much attention when it was built. Another Finnish architect,

Bertel Jung (Axel) Bertel Jung (11 July 1872 — 12 May 1946) was a Finnish architect and urban planner, notable as Finland's first official zoning architect and a pioneer in the field of city planning. Early life and education Axel Bertel Jung was born i ...

, reported that there was puzzlement as to whether it was "beautiful or ugly" and " hether it couldbe called architecture at all". He explained the architects' procedure as a rejection of the customary architectural requirements and of the notion of a block of flats in favour of the primacy of "home" and "a homely atmosphere".

Later history

The large number of doctors within the building led to its becoming known as Lääkäreiden talo (Doctors' House). Over the years, it came to be used increasingly for offices. In 1953, it was acquired by Agronomiliitto for 53 million mk—half of which was financed by the proceeds of a gift of 10,000 kg of

coffee bean A coffee bean is a seed of the ''Coffea'' plant and the source for coffee. It is the pip inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a coffee cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit. Even thou ...

s made to the organisation in celebration of its 50th anniversary in 1947—and its name was changed to Agronomitalo (Agronomy House). The building was studied and wholly renovated in 1970–1981 and later renovations took place in 2001–2002 and in 2012, including installation of a new lift. In the 1990s Helsinki city planning document, it was designated as a commercial building, but in 2013–2014 the owner commissioned a study of the feasibility of returning part of it to residential use.

Residents and tenants

Residents included the surgeon , who lived there from 1913 to 1953; in 1904; he had unsuccessfully operated on

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Nikolai Bobrikov Nikolay Ivanovich Bobrikov (russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Бо́бриков; in St. Petersburg – June 17, 1904 in Helsinki, Grand Duchy of Finland) was a Russian general and politician. He was the Governor-General of Finla ...

after he was shot. Annie and Bertha Edelfelt, the sisters of the artist

Albert Edelfelt Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt (21 July 1854 – 18 August 1905) was a Finnish-Swedish painter noted for his naturalistic style and Realist approach to art. He lived in the Grand Duchy of Finland and made Finnish culture visible abroad, befor ...

, moved in during 1909; after their deaths in 1934, the paintings by their brother from their flat were given to the

Ateneum Ateneum is an art museum in Helsinki, Finland and one of the three museums forming the Finnish National Gallery. It is located in the centre of Helsinki on the south side of Rautatientori square close to Helsinki Central railway station. It has t ...

. Commercial tenants on the ground floor have included the Nordiska Antikvariska Bokhandeln - Pohjoismainen Antikvaarinen Kirjakauppa (Nordic Antiquarian Bookshop, 1918–2001) and , a restaurant (since 1964).

Details

File:Agronomitalo 15.JPG File:Agronomitalo 16.JPG File:Agronomitalo 14.JPG, Wrought-iron gate, Fabianinkatu entrance File:Agronomitalo 06.JPG, Entrance in Pohjoinen Makasiinikatu

References

External links