Reader’s Opinion | Has Finland forgotten what beautiful construction offers?

Martti Paldanius wrote (HS Opinion 13.7.) about the sad current state of new construction in Finland. Paldanius asked right off the bat why we don’t value classical architecture anymore, and wondered about the non-existent aesthetic values ​​of current concrete construction.

in Central Europe as a Finn living abroad, I have thought about the same thing over the years, often shaking my head. In Finland, however, unaestheticity is not limited to new building stock, but rather seems to be an almost endemic part of society. Ruined and urine-burnt public structures with concrete footpaths and galvanized lampposts, or sun-burnt lawns, which we call parks, are just a few examples of this.

The facades of business premises in the cities are taped over with garish colors, and they are often left unattended for years or even decades. Almost all new buildings, on the other hand, are white-gray facades without any mentionable eaves or pitched roofs that are pleasing to the eye and well suited to the Finnish climate.

Functionalism is a modern architectural trend that originated in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century and spread from there practically all over the world. Its central thesis is that purpose dictates form.

When you look at new residential buildings where the bedrooms can no longer fit around a double bed, or where the height of the room and the placement of the windows prevent the use of ventilation windows and the balcony, if curtains are installed in the apartment, this kind of thinking seems to be rare in Finland today. A home like the previous one is inevitably also unaesthetic, because just as the golden trim is pleasing to the eye, the proportional harmony of the space and the interior creates an inspiring whole that the senses enjoy.

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Beauty is still valued in Central Europe.

Central European society, on the other hand, still values ​​beauty. For example, in Vienna, Austria, this can be seen as an inspiring architecture, where old and new buildings blend seamlessly into each other. Rooms in new buildings in Austria are mainly designed to be large enough so that they can be used and furnished more versatilely for the different needs of life.

When I walk through the Austrian countryside, I often admire how beautifully private people’s houses and yards are maintained. Even railway bridges and underpasses are beautifully landscaped with natural stone and plantings suited to the local climate. In Austria, you hardly ever come across a bare concrete surface, whose aesthetic value approaches zero according to the mathematical limit value.

I am In recent years, I have been saddened to read how Helsinki’s Kaivopuisto, after our national festival in May, is nowadays like a trail of destruction. I haven’t experienced anything like it in Vienna. Here, trash cans are sensibly placed on almost every street corner. People also use them obediently and thus protect the common space with their own behavior.

This is like a metaphor for the stark difference between these two societies, one of which lives in the millennial continuum of art, science and aesthetics, and the other seems to have forgotten that a beautiful living environment at its best provides both spiritual well-being and a flourishing framework for life on all its levels.

Kimmo Mustonen

Doctor of Technology

Vienna, Austria

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