Martti Välikangas
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Martti Välikangas (born Martti Buddén, August 1, 1893, County of
Kuopio Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...
– May 9, 1973,
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
) was a 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 ...
renowned for the design of so-called "Puu-Käpylä" ood-Käpylä the Garden City housing area in
Käpylä Käpylä (; ) is a neighbourhood of Helsinki with 7,600 inhabitants. Administratively speaking, Käpylä is a part of the Vanhakaupunki district. It is located between Kumpula, Oulunkylä and Koskela. Käpylä has a terminus for route-1 of ...
near Helsinki, designed in the
Nordic Classicism Nordic Classicism was a Architectural style, style of architecture that briefly blossomed in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland) between 1910 and 1930. The style was also known as Swedish Grace architecture in Sweden. Until ...
style.


Career

Välikangas studied architecture at
Helsinki University of Technology Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; ; , HUT in international usage) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the Helsinki metropolitan area, and it was one of the three universities from which the modern d ...
, qualifying as an architect in 1917. In 1921 he left on a study tour of
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
(as well as visiting the other Nordic countries,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
north Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
), a common practice at that time for architects in the Nordic countries who were turning away from
National Romanticism Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
. After qualifying Välikangas worked in Yuzovka (present-day
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...
in
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
), but had to leave in a hurry with the onset of the
Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...
. On his return, he worked for the Brändö Villastad company as well as in the architect's office of Gösta Juslén and, from 1918 to 1920, in the office of Frosterus and Gripenberg. Välikangas founded his own office in 1920, while also working elsewhere. Among his many other positions, he was chief architect at the National Board of Building from 1937 until the
Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...
in 1940, from 1942 to 1944 he was head of the office responsible for post-war reconstruction, he acted as the director of the board responsible for the restoration of
Turku Castle Turku Castle (, ) is a medieval structure in the city of Turku, Finland. Together with Turku Cathedral, the castle is one of the oldest buildings still in use in Finland. It is also the largest surviving medieval building in Finland. It was found ...
, he was the chief architect at the Helsinki Workers' Savings Bank, and from 1928 to 1930 he was Editor-in-Chief of the ''Finnish Architectural Review'', in doing so influencing the spread of
Modernist architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural architectural movement, movement and architectural style, style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco Architectu ...
in Finland. He is buried in the
Hietaniemi Cemetery The Hietaniemi cemetery (, ) 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 funeral services and is owned by the Evangelical Luthe ...
in Helsinki. The archives of Martti Välikangas are in the possession of the
Museum of Finnish Architecture The Museum of Finnish Architecture (, ) is an architectural museum in Helsinki, Finland. Established in 1956, it is the second oldest museum of its kind (after the Shchusev Museum of Architecture in Moscow) devoted specifically to architecture. T ...
in Helsinki.


Work

Välikangas designed approximately 170 projects.Harri Hautajärvi, "Martti Välikangas: Housing and Banks for Workers", ''ARK'', 6/1993, p.27 His most notable work is the Puu-Käpylä €˜wood Käpylä’Garden Suburb in
Käpylä Käpylä (; ) is a neighbourhood of Helsinki with 7,600 inhabitants. Administratively speaking, Käpylä is a part of the Vanhakaupunki district. It is located between Kumpula, Oulunkylä and Koskela. Käpylä has a terminus for route-1 of ...
on the then northern edge of Helsinki, built from 1920 to 1925, a commission he received at the age of 26. Puu-käpylä was a model workers’ housing area, built at a time when there was a bad housing problem for workers in the city. The construction follows the typical Finnish vernacular method: square-log construction then faced in weatherboarding. However, the whole process was partly industrialized, and the area is regarded as the first prefabricated housing area in Finland. The mostly 2-storey semi-detached timber houses are arranged around sheltered courtyards, where originally the tenants’ vegetable gardens were sited. The colours vary slightly from one house to another, but with a dominance of traditional red ochre. Käpylä was threatened with demolition in the 1960s, and even Välikangas himself drew up plans for the wooden housing to be replaced by a multi-storey development. The area has survived, however, though the working-class families are gradually being replaced by middle-class families and professional types, especially architects – and it also has become a favourite tourist attraction. The Olympic Games were due to take place in Helsinki, in 1940 (but were cancelled due to the Second World War, to be held eventually in Helsinki in
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...
), and Välikangas participated in the design of the Olympic Village, together with architect Hilding Ekelund. Välikangas also designed the Olympic Riding Hall. Other buildings designed by Välikangas in Helsinki include: large apartment blocks Sturenkatu 40 (1926–27) and Hauhontie 4-8 (1924–25), the Helsinki V school (Apollonkatu 11), and apartment blocks at Eerikinkatu 15, Vuorikatu 9 and on Abrahaminkatu. Cinema theatre Orion (Eerikinkatu 15) represents a fine Art Deco interior. Välikangas also designed a number of buildings in his home province, especially in the town of
Mikkeli Mikkeli (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city in, and the regional capital of, South Savo, Finland, located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population is approximately , while the Mikkeli sub-region of Southern Savonia has a populat ...
: the gate building of the Sports Park (1934), the bus station (1934), Harju Chapel (1937), an extension to the Päämaja School (1937), the Jama Commercial building and civic defence building (1938), and Savings Bank building (1940); and in the county of
Savo Savo may refer to: Languages * Savo dialect, forms of the Finnish language spoken in Savo, Finland * Savo language, an endangered language spoken on Savo People * Savo (given name), a masculine given name from southern Europe (includes a list of ...
: the Savonlinna Central Hospital, the Parkumäki Memorial (1929), and the Koikkala Church in
Juva Juva (, also ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia regions of Finland, region some North-East of Helsinki. It was founded on 19 January 1442, and is the oldest parish/municipality in Fi ...
(1959). In 1940, Välikangas and fellow architect Väinö Vähäkallio designed the 1940
Turku Central railway station Turku Central Station (, ) is a railway station in the VII District of Turku, Finland. It has VR services to Helsinki as well as towards Tampere via Toijala. The station serves approximately a million passengers annually. The railway station w ...
.


See also

*
Ursa Observatory The Ursa Observatory (, ) is an astronomical observatory located in the Kaivopuisto park in Helsinki, Finland. The Ursa Astronomical Association observatory, designed by architect Martti Välikangas (1893–1973), was completed in 1926. See als ...


Footnotes


References

*''Nordic Classicism 1910-1930''. Helsinki, Museum of Finnish Architecture, 1982. *''Martti Välikangas 1893-1973 Arkkitehti''. Helsinki, Museum of Finnish Architecture, 1993. {{DEFAULTSORT:Valikangas, Martti Finnish architects Modernist architects Modernist architecture in Finland 1893 births 1973 deaths People from Kuopio Burials at Hietaniemi Cemetery