Uno Werner Ullberg (15 February 1879 in
Viipuri – 12 January 1944 in
Helsinki) was a famous Finnish
architect.
Background
Educated in Helsinki, Ullberg returned to his home town Viipuri in 1906. He drew most of his buildings in Viipuri, but during the last years of his life also in Finland's capital Helsinki.
Viipuri belonged until 1809 to the
Kingdom of Sweden. During 1809–1917 it was a part of the autonomous
Grand Duchy of Finland. It was the second largest city of independent Finland as of 1917. After being conquered by the Soviet Union's red army in both 1940 during the
Winter War and then again in 1944 during the
Continuation War, it then became a part of the
Soviet Union under the Russian name Vyborg after the 1947 peace treaty in Paris, France. When the Soviet Union disbanded itself in 1991, it became a part of Russia.
The style of Ullberg’s architecture covers the transition in architecture from so-called
Nordic Classicism of the 1920s to
Functionalism during the 1930s. Ullberg is regarded as a leading architect of the Nordic Classicism period and was the first to introduce
Functionalism to Viipuri. Though his most notable buildings were constructed in Viipuri, he became famous not only in his native town but nationwide.
Education and early works
As a child Ullberg had studied at the Viborgs konstvänners ritskola art school, where later also, in 1906–1913, he was a teacher. Ullberg graduated in 1901 from the architectural faculty at the Helsinki Polytechnic Institute (Polytekniska institutet in Swedish), now
Aalto University. After graduating he worked as an architect at the offices of
Nyström,
Petrelius &
Penttilä in Helsinki.
After returning in 1906 to his native city, he opened an architectural bureau together with Axel Gyldén, who had studied with him in Helsinki. Together they designed Hackman House, completed in 1909, for the
Hackman
Hackman was a cutlery and cookware company founded in Finland in 1790. The Hackman brand is now owned by Iittala Group, which was acquired by Fiskars Corporation in 2007.
In a 2008 survey which included both Finnish and international brands, it ...
industrialist family. Afterwards, the partnership broke up when Ullberg decided to start working under his own name. He ran his own architect office in Vyborg in 1910–1932 and was the Vyborg city architect from 1932 until 1936, during which time he controlled the urban conception of the city and worked on the
Master plan
Master Plan, Masterplan or The Master Plan may refer to:
General usage
*Master Plan East or Generalplan Ost, a 1941–1945 Nazi plan for genocide and ethnic cleansing in Central and Eastern Europe
*Master Plan Neighborhood areas in Detroit, urban ...
. While living in Vyborg he had also for many years been a city counselor. In 1936 he moved to Helsinki to become head of the building department of the Finnish National Board of Health in 1936–1941.
The most important work created in collaboration with Gyldén was the headquarters of Hackman & Co (1909) at Piispankatu 14 in Viipuri. The building represents the compositional and formal variations of Jugendstil,
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 ...
or National
Romanticism. The main elevation pediments, openings, window frames, portals, and the granite facades are quite typical of National Romanticism, which at that time was also the prevailing architectural style in Finland for key public buildings, most notably in the works of architects
Gesellius, Lindgren, and Saarinen
Gesellius, Lindgren, Saarinen was a Finnish architecture firm, founded in Helsinki in 1896 by architects Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen.
They achieved international recognition with their design for the Finnish pavilion ...
(e.g. Finnish Pavilion at Exposition Universelle (1900), Paris, and National Museum of Finland, Helsinki
902–1904
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the Brahmi numerals, beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshat ...
) The interiors of the building were among the most stylish and rich in the city. The inside of the house survived harmful transformations during the Soviet period so the interior decorations were greatly damaged.
Between 1910 and 1930 he designed a large number of public buildings and houses, most of which are situated in Viipuri. Among these are several office buildings in
Käkisalmi,
Imatra and other Finnish towns.
The early works in Viipuri could be described as traditional town architecture with a classicistic influence. The most interesting examples from this period include the reconstruction of the Union Bank (originally built in 1900), the Karjala offices (1929), the store and residence of V. Dippel (1921) and the restoration of the famous medieval Round Tower in the middle of the old city centre. Ullberg converted the massive old building into a restaurant and cafe.
From Classicism to Functionalism
The most important period in Ullberg's architect career is connected with the "White Era" of
Functionalist architecture. However, some of his important works can be considered as marking a transition from Nordic Classicism to Functionalism during the 1920s and early 1930s.
Ullberg found his own unique conception and interpretation of functionalistic architecture. The main aspect of his philosophy is the connection between the functional and the classical. In his early works Ullberg used as his basis
Nordic Classicism, emphasizing reductive common elements from Classicism. The most important works of the era became Ullberg's reply to the serious social needs of the city. Among these works are the
Viipuri Art Museum and Drawing School
The Hermitage-Vyborg Center is an external branch of the Saint Petersburg based Hermitage Museum in the Karelian town of Vyborg
Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) i ...
(1930), the Viipuri Panttilaitos Oy Building (1931), the Viipuri Provincial Archives (1933), and the Viipuri Maternity Hospital (1937).
The most important of Ullberg's works is the combined Viipuri Art Museum and Drawing School. Completed in October 1930, the building is situated near the 16th Century Pantsarlahti Bastion at the southern end of the city. Contrasting with its fortress surroundings, the white-stuccoed building commands the view over the South Harbour and the approach from the sea. The massing of the building comprises two wings (the Art Museum on the east wing, and the Drawing School on the west) placed at an angle to each other, with a wedge-shaped, paved courtyard separating the two. The wider part of the courtyard faces south-west, towards the harbour, and there is an imposing twin-row of Classical columns with a rectangular cross-section supporting an equally stylistic curving architrave, doubling as a corridor that connects the two buildings. The approach to the museum from the city is through a series of flights of steps leading to an opening, set at an angle, between the windowless north walls of the wings. The walls facing south are almost as austere, with the central colonnade acting as the focal point.
The four-storey building of the Viipuri Panttilaitos Oy was the first completed example of Functionalist movement in the city. It has as many rows of distinct, very simplified bands of windows, or rather, more like four very wide windows with very thin mullions. The first floor fenestration consists of a double row of windows, 22 in a row (that are hinged from the bottom, opening downwards), while the upper three only have one. The bold fenestration is enabled by the use of a solid
reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
girderless framework with "mushroom form" columns that free the brick facade of its load-bearing function. The cross-section of columns on the last stage is much smaller than on the first one, it's because of the increase of mechanical tension down from the roof the basement.
Ullberg was very successful in designing medical facilities. During the ''White Era'' he built a number of hospitals in Viipuri. In 1936 Ullberg moved to Helsinki where he became the head of the architectural bureau of the Finnish National Board of Health, and among his tasks was the planning of the Meilahti Hospital area, including the Children's Hospital, completed in 1946 after his death.
Ullberg's most notable architectural design in Helsinki is Bensow House on Eteläesplaadi, completed for the Bensow trading company. While on the outside the seven-storey building is typically Functionalist in its expression, in the interior it has numerous features typical of
Art Deco, such as the use of chrome, brick tiles and neon signs.
After the
Winter War with the Soviet Union, and following a short period in 1941 when Vyborg was occupied by the Soviet Union, Vyborg was handed back to Finland, Ullberg quickly drew up a plan for the reconstruction for his native town, but there was no opportunity to implement the plan because the entire city was annexed to the Soviet Union in 1944.
Ullberg died in Helsinki in 1944 at the age of 65. His gravestone at
Hietaniemi Cemetery
The Hietaniemi cemetery ( fi, Hietaniemen hautausmaa, sv, Sandudds begravningsplats) is located mainly in the Lapinlahti quarter and partly in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is the location for Finnish state ...
in Helsinki was designed by Finnish architect and designer
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 ...
.
An exhibition of the life and works of Uno Ullberg, titled UNO ULLBERG – AN ARCHITECT FROM FINNISH VYBORG, was held at the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki, in the summer of 2010.
[''Uno Ullberg: An Architect from Finnish Vyborg'', Museum of Finnish Architecture, 02.06.2020 - 23.08.2020]
/ref>
Important buildings
* 1909, Headquarters of "Hackman & Co", Vyborg, Russia
* 1911–1915, Finland Trade Bank offices and residence, Vyborg, Russia
* 1913, United Northern Bank Building, Sortavala
Sortavala (russian: Сортавала; Finnish and krl, Sortavala; sv, Sordavala); till 1918 Serdobol (russian: Сердоболь) is a town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Ladoga near the Finnish bord ...
, Russia
* 1915, Bank Office, Sortavala, Russia
* 1921, trade-house and residence of V. Dippel, Vyborg, Russia
* 1929, "Karjala" offices, Vyborg, Russia
* 1930, Apartment house with public spaces, Vyborg, Russia
* 1930, Viipuri Art Museum and Drawing School, Vyborg, Russia
* 1930, Hospital Building, Vyborg, Russia
* 1931, Viipurin Panttilaitos Oy Building, Vyborg, Russia
* 1932, Swedish-German Pietari-Paavali (Peter and Paul) Lutheran congregation, Vyborg, Russia
* 1932–1933, Viipuri Provincial Archives, Vyborg, Russia
* 1933 Vyborg Stadium
Avangard Stadium (russian: Cтадион Авангард) is a multi-purpose stadium in Vyborg, Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It was completed in 1933 by the design of the Finnish architect Uno Ullberg.
History
Avangard Stadium was opened in 1933 a ...
, Vyborg, Russia
* 1935, Bus Station Office, Sortavala, Russia
* 1936, Villa Solkulla Espoo, Finland
* 1937, Viipuri Hospital Maternity and Women's Wards, Vyborg, Russia
* 1937, Reconstruction of Bus Station, Vyborg, Russia
* 1938, Renovation of Round Tower
A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and ful ...
, Vyborg, Russia
* 1940, Bensow House, Helsinki, Finland
* 1946, Children's Hospital, Helsinki, Finland
References
External links
Functionalism – The Architects.
*
Ullberg, Uno (1879–1944)
in ''Biografiskt lexikon för Finland''.
*
Reconstruction of Panttilaitos Oy
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ullberg, Uno
1879 births
1944 deaths
People from Vyborg
People from Viipuri Province (Grand Duchy of Finland)
Finnish architects
Art Nouveau architects