The architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

 of Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 has a notable history spanning over 800 years and the architecture has contributed to several styles internationally, such as Nordic modernism

Modernism

Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...

, through the works of Alvar Aalto

Alvar Aalto

Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware...

..

Most commonly, Finland's architectural achievements are related to modern architecture, mostly because the current building stock has less than 13% that date back to before 1920, which relates to the reconstruction following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

In addition to Aalto, notable Finnish architects include Eliel Saarinen

Eliel Saarinen

Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen was a Finnish architect who became famous for his art nouveau buildings in the early years of the 20th century....

, Erik Bryggman

Erik Bryggman

Erik Bryggman was a Finnish architect. He studied architecture at Helsinki University of Technology, completing his studies in 1916. In 1920 he travelled to Italy, where he became inspired more by the local vernacular architecture than the classical or Baroque works...

, Reima Pietilä, Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen

Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism.-Biography:Eero Saarinen shared the same birthday as his father,...

, and Lars Sonck

Lars Sonck

Lars Eliel Sonck was a Finnish architect. He graduated from Helsinki Polytechnic Institute in 1894 and immediately won a major design competition for a church in Turku, ahead of many established architects.Sonck ignored the growing trend toward architectural rationalism...

.

In his review article of twentieth century Finnish architecture, Le Monde

Le Monde

Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...

 critic, Frédéric Edelmann, published in autumn 2000, suggested that Finland has more great architects of the status of Alvar Aalto in relation to population than any other country in the world.

There is a long tradition in Finnish architecture to take influences internationally. For example, The German architect Carl Ludvig Engel

Carl Ludvig Engel

Carl Ludvig Engel, or Johann Carl Ludwig Engel , was a German architect known for his neoclassical style. He had a great impact on the architecture of Finland in the first part of the 19th century....

, who moved to Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

 from St Petersburg in 1816, was the mastermind behind all the monumental buildings in the heart of the capital..Similarly, the rise of national romanticism in architecture of the end of the 19th century, despite its name, was a direct adaptation of the European Jugend or Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...

 style.

Finnish architects have had a significant influence in American architecture. Often dubbed as the "Architect of the American Century," Eero Saarinen (1910–61), although born in Finland, was raised and educated mostly in the United States, and created remarkable pieces of architecture throughout the United States, from the TWA Flight Center

TWA Flight Center

The TWA Flight Center or Trans World Flight Center, opened in 1962 as a standalone terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport .for Trans World Airlines...

 at New York's Kennedy Airport to the Gateway Arch

Gateway Arch

The Gateway Arch, or Gateway to the West, is an arch that is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri. It was built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States...

 over St. Louis.

See also

:Category:Finnish architects

• List of World Heritage Sites in Finland

External links

• Museum of Finnish Architecture
• The Alvar Aalto Museum
• Helsinki University of Technology, Department of Architecture
• Finnish Association of Architects This is very good for learning about the culture of Finland