My friend nick posted me the link to this article Architecture is as Helsinki does in the Harvard Independant (note you have to register to read the whole thing just press the print button!). Its a really interesting take on Finnish Architectural Identity, but with some major flaws. Basic premise is that Finnish Architecture has never really been itself.
it might be equally appropriate to say that Finland is not, and has never been, truly itself.
My response is that Finnish Architectural Identity is stronger in this country than in most and has been more successful than many other cultures in providing a ‘modernism’ that has a national identity. The articles histo-cultural reading of Finland is way out of kilter!
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Or just click on the ‘print’ button….most sites like that haven’t ever thought to make that button connect to the subscribe imposition.
I can’t imagine how anyone could write about Helsinki architecture without even really mentioning Jugend.
Thanks for the tip hfb. No Jugend is another complaint about the article to add to the long list…
By the way, I forgot to recommend a book that you might find very interesting by John Stilgoe, a prof at Harvard whom I regret not taking a class from while I was living so close nearby. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0813923212/ - Landscape and Images. Another book of his, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802775632/ - Outside Lies Magic, is also quite excellent. Don’t be put off by the ameri-centric descriptions as it’s not quite as much as it seems and it’s more about his approach than the specifics of his illustrations thereof.
thanks again the second book in particular looks very interesting. I will add to my ‘to buy’ list!