Travel - Scandinavia 2003
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Impressions of Helsinki
I arrived from Stockholm early on a windy sunny September morning at the Viking Terminal in Turku. It was the beginning of the Finish leg of my architectural tour of the four Nordic nations. My plan was to see the Finish countryside by train as I headed to Helsinki. Above the 60th parallel, I was and remain impressed by the slow rising and setting angle of the Nordic sun. Although Montréal endures long, cold, and snowy winters, we are at a latitude shared with Bordeaux and Venice. The train took me through a region that could have been the 5-hour train trip through the Canadian Shield between Montréal and Toronto. Not only did the landscape resemble southern Québec and Ontario, but the wood framed construction of the farms were also similar. That was not my initial impression of Finland. One of my first impressions of Finland was at the beginning of my trip in Berlin when I visited the Finish Embassy by the young team of Rauno Lehtinen, Pekka Mäki and Toni Peltola. Even earlier, the poetic writings of local Helsinki architect, Juhani Pallasmaa had been inspiring me for years and formed the beginnings of my motivation to visit Finland. My train arrived at Saarinen’s Train station. I then took a tramway to my hotel. I used Helsinki’s wonderful tramway system to explore the city and for the simple pleasure of riding on a mode of public transit that I would love to see installed in Montréal. Soon after arriving at the hotel, local architect Heikki Kokkonen whisked me off to the historic village of Porvoo to the east of Helsinki. It was my introduction to the wood origins of Finish architecture. While touring the architecture, Heikki and I talked about Finnish history and culture. Five million Finns, living on an expanse of Nordic trees, lakes, and rocks, speaking an enchantingly unique language with a history of resistance against six hundred years of Swedish influence and one hundred of Russian dominance, I was struck by the cultural parallels with Québec’s history and culture. The city of Helsinki, so influenced by Engel’s design in the 19th century, made me often think of Montréal. I did not feel that I was in ‘old Europe’; rather, I felt that I was visiting a sister city. Montréal first substantially started to develop during the industrial revolution of the 19th century and was heavily influenced by the British Victorian styles of that era. Although Helsinki is not a Victorian city, its historical flavour and climate reminded me of home. What was different was the architectural consciousness of Helsinki. Not only a city of Aalto monuments, Helsinki also has interesting contemporary design fitting of Finland designating architecture as its national product. I was there to explore how my Nordic cousins relate their architecture to their culture, landscape, and very present climate. I was left with one question at the end of my trip. Why are Québec, Canada, and Finlande not in closer contact? It seems to me that both countries can inspire and learn from each other. At the same time, as I pose this question, I know that two weeks after my visit, Canada’s Governor General visited on a cultural tour. I hope that the contact continues.
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