We have been doing a lot of sketching since we arrived in Finland. Mostly very quick sketches of all the buildings we visit. Next week, we will start watercolor with Jim Tice and I am looking forward to spending a bit more time on each sketch. Check out the photos page for some snippets from my sketchbook.
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Russia is definitely a challenging place to travel without any language skills as almost no one speaks English and all the signage is in Cryllic. But it was also very inexpensive (once you get in) and the food was fantastic (I love borscht!), and then of course there are the palaces… The history of the tzars and development of the city of St. Petersburg is fascinating and unwinds as you see the palaces, gardens, monuments and art. Everything is remarkably intact considering all the tumultous events that have unfolded there. Next time I go I’d like to see Moscow, although the travelers I met that had just been there were all very relieved to arrive safely in St. Petersburg.
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Estonia is only a short boat ride across the baltic sea and doesn’t require a special visa (unlike Russia). It would appear that many Finns and Swedes go there as a day trip with the sole intention of loading up on cheaper alchohol (like the fellows pictured below with their shopping cart).
But the city of Tallin is a gorgeous midieval city that is extremely well preserved with the modern city dilineated by the stone gates. They also have a new modern art museum called the Kumu which is the pride of the country. Wandering through this magestic place was well worth the acordian band on the cruise over.
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I spent the week with a group of students from the University on Nötö Island, in the Turku Archipelago, measuring and documenting a wooden chuch. The church was constructed in 1756 and the paintings were completed in 1771. When we return to the school in Otaneimi we will complete some detailed drawings and a model in the woodshop.
The Island of Nötö only has 9 year round residents who maintain the church and the beautiful graveyard covered with wildflowers. The church was built by a group of seaman whose ship went down and they built the church in gratitute of their survival. You may notice the ceiling of the ship resembles the construction of a ships hull.
We also took a ferry to an island called Utö on the southernmost border of Finland to look at an old lighthouse church. Three of us missed the ferry back that evening and had to sleep on the rocks by the shore. Unfortunately the ferry didn’t come again for 2 days so we were essentially marooned on the island. However, after the first night of camping out we met an awesome young finnish couple that found us a place to stay and invited us to a grill at their house that evening. JP translates books on philosophy from english to finnish and Tiina is a teacher and works at a very small gallery that was created inside of a root cellar. They keep a blog about their life on the island (www.integralisland.blogspot.com)
Finnish people in the metropolian area of Helsinki are so fashionable! Everyone seems to have a unique and indefinable look and the variety of hairstyles is impressive. Sonia Rykiel, Japanese Lolita (gothic, cute and punk) and metal are all big here. The best styles I’ve seen are a mix of thrift, hand-me-downs and a sprinkle of H&M, as seen on Hel-Looks (See my favorites below). Inspired, I went off in search of some threads of my own. The most popular thrift stores here are the UFF chain and there is also a great flea market that is open in the evenings in the summer in Hietalahti Square.
Last night, we went to the Ice Bar, located inside La Bodega Resturaunt in downtown Helsinki. For 10 Euro, you are given a oversized cape and Kangaru Moonboots before being escorted back to the bar, which is is essentially a walk-in freezer kept at -5°C. The bar and cocktail tables are all crafted of sculpted ice and vodka is the beverage du jour. It’s a bit of a touristy thing to do, but the chilly peartini (included in the fare) was delicious and for the novelty of the whole experience I’d say it was worth it.
No classes this weekend so I spent most of the time walking around Helsinki, visiting buildings, museums and design shops. The Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Design Museum, located in the Helsinki Design District, have excellent collections of the modern architecture and furniture for which Finland and Scandenavia are known.
Museum of Finnish Architecture
Kiasma is Helsinki’s Modern Art Museum, designed by Steven Holl and located near the central rail station. Both the exhibit ‘Horror Vacui’ and the building were fantastic. The cafe and bookstore were also well worth the visit. Check out my photos page for more images of the building and interiors.
Kiasma Lobby
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After taking a flight directly from Seattle to Copenhagen (only 9 hours!) via the arctic jet stream over Canada and Iceland, I flew into Helsinki and navigated by metro to the apartment the school had arranged for us to sublet for the 2 months we will be here. In a region called Voosari, our apartment building is one of many high-rise flats located throughout the ‘burb’ on the Metro line. The housing is reasonably dense but surrounded by parks and pedestrian walks with very nice bike sheds and a sauna in every apartment.
Housing complexes where I live in Voosari
We met for classes the very next morning at the Helsinki University of Technology on a campus in Otaneimi that was designed by Alvar Aalto. Many of the buildings are quite stunning, down to the very small details like door handles and light fixtures all designed by Aalto. Over the last few days we have visited many works of Architecture, including a number of chapels. In Finland, the predominant religion is Lutheran and a good deal of public money goes to building beautiful churches, even though I have learned the Finns rarely attend church. In fact, during the summer when most Finns are on holiday at their summer cabins, there are almost no services held. Most of the designs are won through competition, and so the chapels are designed by the countries best architects and some by up and coming young architects as well. Here are some of the highlights:
Juha Leiviska, Myyrmaki Church
Siren & Siren, Otaniemi Chapel
I have arrived in Helsinki, Finland for an 8 week program at Teknillinen korkeakoulu (Helsinki University of Technology) for Architectural studies. Please feel free to follow me and leave comments if you will!
My address in Finland is:
Pohjavedenkatu 4a #18 00980, Helsinki
This week, I participated in a seminar with Professor Cartwright, Jari Jetsonen; our guest lecturer from Finland, and 8 other U of O students to construct 2 exhibition quality models of Aalto’s summer houses, Muurasalto (the experimental house) and Villa Flora . The two models will be included in the exhibition curated by Jari and Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen in collaboration with the Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Alvar Aalto Museum. We spent the week in the furniture design studio and barely finished up the models in time for their departure.
A closer look at the brick courtyard of the Experimental House.
The first exhibit with the new models is in Seattle at the Nordic Heritage Museum