Aarno Emil Ruusuvuori (14 January 1925,

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

– 22 February 1992,

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 ...

) was 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 ...

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 ...

and director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture. He studied 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 ...

, completing his studies in 1951. Aarno Ruusuvuori was one of the central architects in Finland during the 1960s, well known for designing

modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

buildings, often using exposed concrete, often in a

Brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

style. His best-known works are the Weilin & Göös Print Works 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 ...

(1964–66) and the Hyvinkää Church (1961). Ruusuvuori courted much controversy during the early 1970s with his ambitious plans for the modernisation of the

Helsinki City Hall Helsinki City Hall ( fi, Helsingin kaupungintalo, sv, Helsingfors stadshus) is a central administrative building of Helsinki, Finland. City Hall is located in the Kruununhaka district, overlooking Market Square, at address Pohjoisesplanadi 11–1 ...

in the very centre of

. The City Hall takes up an entire city block, consisting mostly of several buildings built in the

neo-classical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

, including buildings designed by C.L. Engel. Ruusuvuori preserved the main festival hall, but demolished many of the interiors, preserving only their facades. This saga, together with many other developments where historical buildings were demolished was captured in an influential book by architects

Vilhelm Helander Arne Anders Vilhem Helander (born 8 February 1941 in Helsinki), is a Finnish architect and was Professor of Architecture History at Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland from 1986 until 2005, when he became professor emeritus. Heland ...

and Mikael Sundman, titled ''Kenen Helsinki?'' (Whose Helsinki?) (1970). Ruusuvuori continued to work on the large scheme throughout the 1970s, completing it in 1988, but toned down the scale of the earlier proposed demolitions. The Weilin & Göös Print Works (1964–66), Espoo, designed by Ruusuvuori, was closed down at the end of the 20th century. It was then purchased by the City of Espoo, who had it converted into the

WeeGee Exhibition Centre The WeeGee house ( fi, WeeGee-talo, sv, WeeGee-huset), officially The WeeGee Exhibition Centre, is the former printing house of the Weilin+Göös publishing house situated on Ahertajantie in Tapiola, Espoo, Finland. The first two phases of the ...

, for culture and the arts, which opened its doors to the public in October 2006.

Key works

*Hyvinkää Church, 1961. *Merimiehenkatu 32, apartment block, Helsinki, 1962. *Huutoniemi Church, Vaasa, 1964. *Hämeenlinna Church, renovation, 1964. *Weilin & Göös Print Works, Espoo, 1964–66 (converted into the WeeGee Exhibition Centre, 2006). *Tapiola Church, Espoo, 1965. *Roihuvuori School, Helsinki, 1967. *Marimekko Print Works, Helsinki, 1967 (demolished). *Marimekko Sauna, 1968. *Mikkeli Police Station, 1968. *Paragon office building, Helsinki, 1973. *Sauna Bonsdorff, Padasjoki, 1987. *Helsinki City Hall "restoration" and modernization, 1970 and 1988. *Finnish National Museum extension, 1985 (unrealised) File:Hyvinkää church 2.jpg, Hyvinkää Church, Hyvinkää Image:Huutoniemi church Vaasa Finland.jpg, Huutoniemi Church, Vaasa Image:WeeGee Ruusuvuori Espoo.JPG, Weilin & Göös Print Works, Espoo File:Tapiolan kirkko talvella.jpg, Tapiola Church, Espoo File:Ruusuvuori Tapiola Church interior.jpg, Tapiola Church interior File:Helsinki luonnontiedelukio.jpg, Former Paragon offices, Helsinki File:Ruusuvuori Helsinki City Hall.JPG, Helsinki City Hall extension File:Ruusuvuori hki townhall.stairs.jpg, Helsinki City Hall modernised entrance hall.

References

*Aarno Ruusuvuori, ''Structure is the Key to Beauty''. Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki, 1992.

External links

WeeGee Homepage (English)
Modernist architecture in Finland Brutalist architects 1925 births 1992 deaths People from Kuopio 20th-century Finnish architects {{Finland-architect-stub