Säynätsalo Town Hall
Encyclopedia
The Säynätsalo Town Hall is a multifunction building complex – town hall, shops, library and flats – designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto
for the municipality of Säynätsalo (merged with the municipality of Jyväskylä
in 1993) in Central Finland
. Aalto received the commission after a design contest
in 1949, and the building was completed in December 1951.
), whose headquarters in Helsinki he also designed. The town hall would be built at a later date after Aalto won a government-mandated competition for its design. Aalto constructed the building into the wooded hillside of Säynätsalo creating a three-story multi-purpose building surrounding an elevated courtyard.
from which Aalto drew inspiration for the courtyard arrangement which informed the name of his original competition entry entitled "Curia." While the main program of the building is housed within a heavy brick envelope, the courtyard is bordered by a glass-enclosed circulation space which can be linked to the model of an arcade-bordered Piazza
.
The town hall is crowned by the council chamber, a double-height space which is capped by the Aalto-designed "Butterfly" trusses. The trusses support both the roof and the ceiling, creating airflow to manage condensation in the winter and heat in the summer. The butterfly truss eliminates the need for multiple intermediate trusses. It also gives call to medieval and traditional styles. The council Chamber is approached from the main entrance hall a floor below via a ramp which wraps around the main tower structure under a row of clerestory ribbon windows.
Aalto constrained his material palate to one dominated by brick and accented by timber and copper. Though Aalto practiced at the same time as Modernist Architects Le Corbusier
and others, he rejected the Machine Aesthetic for the majority of his architecture. Instead, he saw his buildings as organisms made of up of individual cells. This principle informed Aalto's use of traditional building materials such as brick which is, by nature, cellular. The bricks were even laid slightly off-line to create a dynamic and enlivened surface condition.
The massive brick envelope is punctuated by periods of vertical striation in the form of timber columns which evoke Säynätsalo's setting in a heavily forested area.
Another distinctive feature at Säynätsalo is the grass stairs which complement a conventional set of stairs adjacent to the tower council chambers. The grass stairs also evoke notions of ancient Greek and Italian architecture through the establishment of a form resembling a simple amphitheater condition.
Since the original construction, much of the multifunction spaces have been converted to allow for expanding office needs.
Alvar Aalto
Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware...
for the municipality of Säynätsalo (merged with the municipality of Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä is the capital of Central Finland and the largest city on the Finnish Lakeland, north-east of Tampere and north of Helsinki, on northern coast of lake Päijänne. The city has been continuously one of the most rapidly growing cities in Finland since World War II. The city is surrounded...
in 1993) in Central Finland
Central Finland
Central Finland is a region in Finland. It borders to the regions Päijänne Tavastia, Pirkanmaa, Southern Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Northern Ostrobothnia, Northern Savonia and Southern Savonia....
. Aalto received the commission after a design contest
Architectural design competition
An architectural design competition is a special type of competition in which an organization or government body that plans to build a new building asks for architects to submit a proposed design for a building. The winning design is usually chosen by an independent panel of design professionals...
in 1949, and the building was completed in December 1951.
Site
In 1944 Aalto was commissioned to design and implement a town plan for Säynätsalo, a small factory town owned by the wood-processing company Enso-Gutzeit (now part of Stora EnsoStora Enso
Stora Enso Oyj is a Finnish pulp and paper manufacturer, formed by the merger of Swedish mining and forestry products company Stora and Finnish forestry products company Enso-Gutzeit Oy in 1998. It is headquartered in Helsinki, and it has approximately 29,000 employees...
), whose headquarters in Helsinki he also designed. The town hall would be built at a later date after Aalto won a government-mandated competition for its design. Aalto constructed the building into the wooded hillside of Säynätsalo creating a three-story multi-purpose building surrounding an elevated courtyard.
Design
The design of the Town Hall was influenced by both Finnish vernacular architecture and the humanist Italian renaissance. It was the Italian RenaissanceItalian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
from which Aalto drew inspiration for the courtyard arrangement which informed the name of his original competition entry entitled "Curia." While the main program of the building is housed within a heavy brick envelope, the courtyard is bordered by a glass-enclosed circulation space which can be linked to the model of an arcade-bordered Piazza
Piazza
A piazza is a city square in Italy, Malta, along the Dalmatian coast and in surrounding regions. The term is roughly equivalent to the Spanish plaza...
.
The town hall is crowned by the council chamber, a double-height space which is capped by the Aalto-designed "Butterfly" trusses. The trusses support both the roof and the ceiling, creating airflow to manage condensation in the winter and heat in the summer. The butterfly truss eliminates the need for multiple intermediate trusses. It also gives call to medieval and traditional styles. The council Chamber is approached from the main entrance hall a floor below via a ramp which wraps around the main tower structure under a row of clerestory ribbon windows.
Aalto constrained his material palate to one dominated by brick and accented by timber and copper. Though Aalto practiced at the same time as Modernist Architects Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
and others, he rejected the Machine Aesthetic for the majority of his architecture. Instead, he saw his buildings as organisms made of up of individual cells. This principle informed Aalto's use of traditional building materials such as brick which is, by nature, cellular. The bricks were even laid slightly off-line to create a dynamic and enlivened surface condition.
The massive brick envelope is punctuated by periods of vertical striation in the form of timber columns which evoke Säynätsalo's setting in a heavily forested area.
Another distinctive feature at Säynätsalo is the grass stairs which complement a conventional set of stairs adjacent to the tower council chambers. The grass stairs also evoke notions of ancient Greek and Italian architecture through the establishment of a form resembling a simple amphitheater condition.
Plan
Originally, the hall was planned as a multifunction space which would include civic offices and meeting space, private apartment space, shops, a bank, and a library. The civic spaces are concentrated on the second floor on the west side of the building, surrounding the courtyard and leading to the council chamber. The apartment spaces occupy both the first and second stories on the east end.Since the original construction, much of the multifunction spaces have been converted to allow for expanding office needs.