The Seinäjoki Civil Guard House ( Finnish: ''Seinäjoen Suojeluskuntatalo'') is a building located in

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; la, Wegelia, formerly sv, Östermyra) is a city located in South Ostrobothnia, Finland; east of Vaasa, north of Tampere, west of Jyväskylä and southwest of Oulu. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra bru ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It is notable for being one of the first public buildings designed entirely by the Finnish

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

, and is considered one of his breakthrough works.

Background and use

The building was designed by Aalto in 1924–1926, to serve as the headquarters of the

South Ostrobothnia South Ostrobothnia ( fi, Etelä-Pohjanmaa; sv, Södra Österbotten) is one of the 19 regions of Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, and Satakunta. Among the Finnish regions, South O ...

division of the Finnish

Civil Guard Civil Guard refers to various policing organisations: Current * Civil Guard (Spain), Spanish gendarmerie * Civil Guard (Israel), Israeli volunteer police reserve * Civil Guard (Brazil), Municipal law enforcement corporations in Brazil Histori ...

(aka. White Guard, or Defence Corps) voluntary

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

and the related Lotta Svärd women's auxiliary organisation. After the end of World War II (or Continuation War, in the Finnish context), the Civil Guard and Lotta Svärd organisations were disbanded as stipulated in the peace treaty with 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 ...

, and the building was leased to a youth cultural organisation ('), with other tenants over time including a school. Since 1990, the building has been home to the Suojeluskunta & Lotta Svärd Museum, as part of the City of Seinäjoki museum network.

Design

The design, in the Nordic classical style, is considered one of the main works from Aalto's earlier neoclassical period, predating the modernist style for which he is more widely known. The main interior features were also designed by Aalto, and are stylistically in similar vein; per Alvar Aalto Foundation,

The unusual stair hall, facade pilasters, and assembly hall repainted in Pompeiian style. ..Aalto originally designed a loggia-like staircase for the end entrance, but it was not built.

The building complex consists of three buildings and a courtyard enclosed by them. The main building comprises three

storey A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US). T ...

s, and is of

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

(ground floor) and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

(first and second floors) construction. The ground floor is partly subterranean, and houses a circular assembly hall. The top floor was originally intended for residential use, with further accommodation found in one of the separate buildings. The courtyard was originally intended for

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

and foot drill use, and now houses the 1988 statue ' and related

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

by Finnish sculptor,

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Pentti Papinaho Pentti Papinaho (2 June 1926 — 8 March 1992) was a Finnish sculptor especially known for his public works featuring military, patriotic or religious themes, active particularly in the Tavastia region of Finland. Education Papinaho studied at ...

. In 2002, the building complex was designated and protected by the

Finnish Heritage Agency The Finnish Heritage Agency ( fi, Museovirasto, sv, Museiverket), previously known in English as the National Board of Antiquities, preserves Finland's material cultural heritage: collects, studies and distributes knowledge of it. The agency is a ...

as a nationally important built cultural environment (''Valtakunnallisesti merkittävä rakennettu kulttuuriympäristö'').

References

{{Seinäjoki Cityscape Alvar Aalto buildings Seinäjoki Buildings and structures in South Ostrobothnia

Background and use

Design

See also

References