Arne Anders Vilhem Helander (born 8 February 1941 in

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 ...

), is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

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 ...

and was Professor of Architecture History at

Helsinki University of Technology Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; fi, Teknillinen korkeakoulu; sv, Tekniska högskolan) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the metropolitan area of Greater Helsinki. The university was founded in ...

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi ...

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 ...

from 1986 until 2005, when he became

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. Helander qualified as an architect in 1967, and completed a further

Licentiate degree A licentiate (abbreviated Lic.) is an academic degree present in many countries, representing different educational levels. It may be similar to a master's degree when issued by pontifical universities and other universities in Europe, Latin Am ...

in architecture in 1972. He had been teaching in Helsinki University of Technology, in the position of teaching assistant already since 1963, while still studying, and was an "acting professor" in 1968-69. In addition to his teaching work, Helander has also worked as an architect. He has had his own office since 1968, but has been in partnership with architect

Juha Leiviskä Juha Ilmari Leiviskä (born 17 March 1936 in Helsinki) is a prominent Finnish architect and designer. He is especially known for his churches and other sacral buildings. Life and career The son of engineer Toivo Ilmari Leiviskä and teacher ...

since 1978, their firm being called Vilhelm Helander, Juha Leiviskä arkkitehdit SAFA. Helander first came to public prominence with the polemical book ''Kenen Helsinki?'' (Whose Helsinki?) (1970), written jointly with architect Mikael Sundman. This was a period when the building rights for many urban centres in Finland had been raised, allowing both owners and property developers to build larger buildings, the consequence of which was the destruction of much of the old urban fabric. In many cases, the historic facades were preserved and new buildings with denser areas were built behind them. Helander and Sundman's book was one of the first publications to bring the destruction of the historical Helsinki to public attention. One of the main examples was the development of the neoclassical Helsinki City Hall being vastly modified by architect

Aarno Ruusuvuori Aarno Emil Ruusuvuori (14 January 1925, Kuopio – 22 February 1992, Helsinki) was a Finnish architect, professor and director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture. He studied at Helsinki University of Technology, completing his studies in 1951. ...

. The book was awarded the prestigious

Eino Leino Prize The Eino Leino Prize is an annual prize award to top writers in Finland since 1956, with particular emphasis on poets. It is named after Eino Leino, a pioneer of Finnish poetry. Recipients *1956 Viljo Kajava *1957 Helvi Juvonen *1958 Rabbe Enc ...

in 1971. Helander went on to specialise in building conservation, both in teaching and in practice. Helander has also written widely on the subject of the history of Finnish architecture. Helander is a member of the

Finnish Association of Architects SAFA ( fi, Suomen Arkkitehtiliitto, sv, Finlands Arkitektförbund, en, Finnish Association of Architects) is the professional body representing architects in Finland. Overview The Association SAFA is a non-profit, professional organization op ...

. He has been a member of a number of boards, including the

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 ...

Foundation (1997-2006), and the City of Helsinki city building inspection commission (1976–79, 1982–85). He is married to Elisabeth Helander, Director of Community Initiatives and Innovative Actions of the Directorate-General for Regional Policy of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

A select list of building conservation and conversion works by Vilhelm Helander

* Old Students' House, Helsinki (1978–80) *

Suomenlinna Suomenlinna (; until 1918 Viapori, ), or Sveaborg (), is an inhabited sea fortress the Suomenlinna district is on eight islands of which six have been fortified; it is about 4 km southeast of the city center of Helsinki, the capital of Finla ...

Fortress island, Helsinki (1977; 2005–09) *School, kindergarten and clubhouse in

Katajanokka Katajanokka ( sv, Skatudden) is a neighbourhood of Helsinki, Finland, with around 4000 inhabitants in 2005. The district is located adjacent to the immediate downtown area, though in the first major town plan for Helsinki from the mid-18th cent ...

, Helsinki (1980–85) * Finnish National Museum, Helsinki (1993-2000, 2016-) *

Helsinki Cathedral Helsinki Cathedral ( fi, Helsingin tuomiokirkko, ; sv, Helsingfors domkyrka, ) is the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the neighborhood of Kruununhaka in the c ...

, Helsinki (1995–99) * House of the Estates, Helsinki (1985–93) *

Pori ) , website www.pori.fi Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...

Town Hall (2000–08) *

Porvoo Porvoo (; sv, Borgå ; la, Borgoa) is a city and a municipality in the Uusimaa region of Finland, situated on the southern coast about east of the city border of Helsinki and about from the city centre. Porvoo was one of the six medieval to ...

museums (2003–09) *Good Shepherd Church, Pakila, Helsinki, restoration and extension (by Juha Leiviskä) (2002)

Awards

Helander was awarded the European Gold Medal for the Preservation of Historical Monuments in 1998; and the Pro-Finlandia Medal in 1998.

References

*Vilhelm Helander, ''Modern Architecture in Finland'', Kirjayhtymä, Helsinki, 1995. *Vilhelm Helander and Mikael Sundman, ''Kenen Helsinki - raportti kantakaupungista'', Porvoo, 1970. n Finnish*Vilhelm Helander, "Brick - Wood - Iron - Concrete. Early co-operation between architects and engineers in Finland", ''Innovations; Architect and Engineer. Seminar at Helsinki University of Technology, Nov. 26-27, 2009''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Helander, Vilhelm 1941 births Living people Architects from Helsinki Finnish architecture writers Neoclassical architecture in Finland Recipients of the Eino Leino Prize