Karl Hård af Segerstad (28 January 1873,

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 ...

– 22 October 1931, Helsinki) was a Finnish architect. He came from a Swedish family, but lived and worked his whole life in Finland, mainly in Helsinki and Viipuri (which was taken from Finland by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in 1944 and today lies in Russia). He was appointed city architect of Helsinki in 1907. One of his most famous works is the

Nylands Nation Nylands Nation (NN) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, Finland's oldest, Swedish-speaking and established in 1643 at The Royal Academy of Turku. In 1828, the Academy moved to Helsinki taking the name "University" and ...

building (1899–1901) at the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

in Helsinki.

Life

Both of Karl Hård af Segerstad's parents were Swedish nationals, and throughout his life he retained strong ties to Sweden, although he was born and lived in Finland. He studied architecture at the

Polytechnic Institute An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

in Helsinki, graduating in 1895. A year later, he received his Finnish citizenship. As a student, he worked for the architectural firms Kiseleff & Heikel (the firm of Konstantin Kiseleff and

Elia Heikel Elia is a name which may be a variant of the names Elias, Elijah, Eli or Eliahu, and may refer to: People * Aelia (gens) or Elia, a ''gens'' of Ancient Rome Mononymic * Elia or Elijah, a biblical prophet * Elia, a pen-name of Charles Lamb First ...

) and Grahn, Hedman & Wasastjerna (the firm of architects Karl Gustaf Grahn, Ernst Gustaf Hedman and Knut Wasastjerna). After he graduated, he founded his own architectural firm and then worked as an independent architect for several years. In 1902 he was appointed deputy county architect of

Viipuri Province Viipuri Province ( fi, Viipurin lääni'', commonly abbreviated'' Vpl, sv, Viborgs län or Wiborgs län, russian: Выборгская губерния) was a historical province of Finland from 1812 to 1945. History The predecessor of the ...

, and in 1907 he was made city architect of Helsinki. His high demands on himself led to a quickly deteriorating health and he died in Helsinki in 1931 at the age of 58.

Architecture

Hård af Segerstad's architecture takes its inspiration mainly from contemporary Swedish and German architecture, and to a lesser degree from the

National Romantic style The National Romantic style was a Nordic architectural style that was part of the National Romantic movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is often considered to be a form of Art Nouveau. The National Romantic style spread ...

which was popular among many contemporary Finnish architects. The

Châteauesque Châteauesque (or Francis I style,Whiffen, Marcus, ''American Architecture Since 1780: A guide to the styles'', The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1969, p. 142. or in Canada, the Château Style) is a Revivalist architectural style based on the Fr ...

-style

building (1898–1901) in Helsinki has been described as his most accomplished work. During his time in Vyborg, he designed both tenement houses and a large covered market building. After his return to Helsinki he continued designing schools, a library, and another covered market. At city architect of Helsinki, he was in part responsible for social housing and planning issues.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hard af Segerstad, Karl 1873 births 1931 deaths Finnish architects Finnish people of Swedish descent Naturalized citizens of Finland