Johan Sigfrid Sirén (27 May 1889 – 5 March 1961) 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. He is best known for

Eduskuntatalo The Parliament House ( fi, Eduskuntatalo, sv, Riksdagshuset) is the seat of the Parliament of Finland. It is located in the Finnish capital Helsinki, in the district of Töölö. History In 1923 a competition was held to choose a site for a new ...

, which is where the

Parliament of Finland The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. The ...

meets.

Career

Sirén was born in 1889 in

Ylihärmä Ylihärmä is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated, together with Alahärmä and Kortesjärvi, to Kauhava on 1 January 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The ...

. In 1907, he graduated from high school and started his studies at the

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 ...

. After receiving his diploma in 1913, Sirén worked for Jung & Fabritius until 1917. In 1918, he founded an office with Kaarlo Borg and Urho Åberg. In 1924, they won a contest for the design of Eduskuntatalo, the Parliament House of Finland. The three soon parted ways and Sirén continued work on the Eduskuntatalo alone. During the construction period from 1926 to 1931, he acted as a supervisor. Sirén went on to hold his own office, and his later work included the expansion of the main building of 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 1931, Sirén was also appointed a professor of architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology. He retired from the position in 1957, and died in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

in 1961. He is buried in the Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki. Sirén's son

Heikki Siren Heikki Siren (5 October 1918 in Helsinki – 25 February 2013 in Helsinki) was a Finnish architect. He graduated from the Helsinki University of Technology in 1946 as a student of his father J. S. Sirén. Heikki Siren designed most of his works ...

was also a renowned architect, as was his daughter-in-law

Kaija Siren Katri (Kaija) Anna-Maija Helena Siren (née Tuominen; October 23, 1920 in Kotka – January 15, 2001) was a Finnish architect. She graduated as an architect from the Helsinki University of Technology in 1948. Siren designed most of her works t ...

References

1889 births 1961 deaths People from Ylihärmä People from Vaasa Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) Finnish architects Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery {{Finland-architect-stub