Mäntyniemi
Encyclopedia
Mäntyniemi is one of the three official residence
s of the President of Finland
besides the Presidential Palace
and Kultaranta. Mäntyniemi was finished in 1993. After that the three Finnish presidents, Mauno Koivisto
, Martti Ahtisaari
and the incumbent Tarja Halonen
have lived there.
When president Urho Kekkonen
resigned in 1981 due to a serious illness, he stayed in the then official residence Tamminiemi
until his death in 1986. The Government of Finland
set aside Tamminiemi for him and decided to choose a new residence for the president Koivisto. In 1983 28,000 square metres of land was bought in the Meilahti
district in western Helsinki
. Reima and Raili Pietilä
won the open architectural competition to design Mäntyniemi. Construction started in September 1989 and was completed in 1993.
Mäntyniemi is the first official residence to be built specifically for the President of Finland
. It is located by the sea
and steps lead down from the main reception room to a waterfront terrace. The surrounding landscaping is done by Maj-Lis Rosenbröjer and was designed to exist in harmony with the natural vegetation.
Interior design, the textiles, furnishings, tableware and other items were designed specifically for the Mäntyniemi. Competitions for artists were held to choose some of the individual works of art for particular settings or parts of the house. Stone (such as granite
) and wood (birch
) are among the commonly used materials on the inside, along with concrete.
There are three buildings on the site. The large main house comprises most of the total floor space (around 2,000 square meters or 22,000 square feet). It is where the president's private living quarters and personal office suites, as well as the reception rooms are located. The latter can be used for meetings, receiving visitors and hosting smaller receptions. There is also a small gatehouse and an outbuilding on the premises.
In comparison, the White House
has 5,100 m² (55,000 ft²) of floor space.
Official residence
An official residence is the residence at which heads of state, heads of government, gubernatorial or other senior figures officially reside...
s of the President of Finland
President of Finland
The President of the Republic of Finland is the nation's head of state. Under the Finnish constitution, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people of Finland for a term of six years....
besides the Presidential Palace
Presidential Palace, Helsinki
The Presidential Palace in Helsinki , is one of the official residences in Helsinki of the President of the Republic of Finland. It is situated on the north side of Esplanadi, overlooking Market Square.-Origins and early history:...
and Kultaranta. Mäntyniemi was finished in 1993. After that the three Finnish presidents, Mauno Koivisto
Mauno Koivisto
Mauno Henrik Koivisto is a Finnish politician who served as the ninth President of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as Prime Minister 1968–1970 and 1979–1982...
, Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a Finnish politician, the tenth President of Finland , Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work....
and the incumbent Tarja Halonen
Tarja Halonen
Tarja Kaarina Halonen is the incumbent President of Finland. The first female to hold the office, Halonen had previously been a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 when she resigned after her election to the presidency...
have lived there.
When president Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kekkonen
Urho Kaleva Kekkonen , was a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland and later as the eighth President of Finland . Kekkonen continued the “active neutrality” policy of his predecessor President Juho Kusti Paasikivi, a doctrine which came to be known as the “Paasikivi–Kekkonen...
resigned in 1981 due to a serious illness, he stayed in the then official residence Tamminiemi
Tamminiemi
Tamminiemi , is a villa located in the Meilahti district of Helsinki. It was one of the official residences of the President of Finland from 1940 until 1981. From that date, until his death, it served as the residence of President Urho Kekkonen. It is now the Urho Kekkonen Museum. It is located in...
until his death in 1986. The Government of Finland
Finnish Council of State
The Cabinet of Finland is the body that directs the Government of Finland. However, in governmental translations to English, the distinction is often blurred between cabinet and government in the wider sense...
set aside Tamminiemi for him and decided to choose a new residence for the president Koivisto. In 1983 28,000 square metres of land was bought in the Meilahti
Meilahti
Meilahti is a neighbourhood of Helsinki between Mannerheimintie and a bay named Seurasaarenselkä. Most of the houses in Meilahti were built in the 1930s and 1940s. Meilahti is home to over 6700 people including the President of Finland Tarja Halonen who lives on the shore in the President's...
district in western 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...
. Reima and Raili Pietilä
Reima and Raili Pietilä
Reima Pietilä was a Finnish architect. He did most of his work together with his wife Raili Pietilä .Reima Pietilä was professor of architecture at the University of Oulu from 1973 to 1979....
won the open architectural competition to design Mäntyniemi. Construction started in September 1989 and was completed in 1993.
Mäntyniemi is the first official residence to be built specifically for the President of Finland
President of Finland
The President of the Republic of Finland is the nation's head of state. Under the Finnish constitution, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people of Finland for a term of six years....
. It is located by the sea
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...
and steps lead down from the main reception room to a waterfront terrace. The surrounding landscaping is done by Maj-Lis Rosenbröjer and was designed to exist in harmony with the natural vegetation.
Interior design, the textiles, furnishings, tableware and other items were designed specifically for the Mäntyniemi. Competitions for artists were held to choose some of the individual works of art for particular settings or parts of the house. Stone (such as granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
) and wood (birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
) are among the commonly used materials on the inside, along with concrete.
There are three buildings on the site. The large main house comprises most of the total floor space (around 2,000 square meters or 22,000 square feet). It is where the president's private living quarters and personal office suites, as well as the reception rooms are located. The latter can be used for meetings, receiving visitors and hosting smaller receptions. There is also a small gatehouse and an outbuilding on the premises.
Numerical data
- Volume: 16,290 m³ (575,300 ft³)
- Gross floor space: 4,210 m² (45,300 ft²)
- Net floor space: 2,312 m² (24,890 ft²)
- Of which private living quarters: 680 m² (7,300 ft²)
- Offices: 424 m² (4,560 ft²)
- And reception rooms: 916 m² (9,860 ft²)
- Windows: 300
- Corners on the exterior: 212
- Doors: 190, of which 180 are all different
In comparison, the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
has 5,100 m² (55,000 ft²) of floor space.