Eliel and Eero Saarinen - Table of Contents ........................ Architecture Around the World
Helsinki’s major railroad station
dated from the
1860s and, by the turn of the last century, it was obsolete. As
early as 1904, the city planned to build a much larger and more modern
station. [Eliel] Saarinen was selected to design the building. His original ideas called for a structure that would include medieval elements, traditional Finnish architecture and romantic elements. If you think about the major railroad depots being designed for major United States cities at the turn of the Twentieth Century such as New York, Washington and Chicago, you realized that their architects were quite strongly influenced by classical architecture. You often find Greek pillars and other elements of classical style. Saarinen’s station in Helsinki ranks, in terms of architectural ken, with the most impressive stations in this country but you realize that it involves modern architecture, not ideas borrowed from Roman and Greek designers. - Detroit (online April 2017) |
The first railway station in
Helsinki was built
in 1860, as Finland's first railway between Helsinki and Hämeenlinna
was opened. The station's plans were drawn by the Swedish architect
Carl Albert Edelfelt. However, as the popularity of railways grew, the
station turned out to be too small, and a contest was organised in 1904
with the intention of producing plans for a new station. The contest
received 21 entries, and was won by Eliel Saarinen,
with a pure
national romanticist design, which sparked off a vigorous debate about
the architecture of major public buildings, with demands for a modern,
rational style. Saarinen himself abandoned romanticism altogether and
re-designed the station completely. The new design was finished in 1909
and the station was opened in 1919.- Architectuul (online April 2017) |