Aarne Adrian Ervi (originally Aarne Adrian Elers) (19 May 1910 – 26 September 1977) was one of the most important

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

's post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

reconstruction period. Ervi was born in

Forssa Forssa is a Cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located almost in the centre of a triangle defined by the three largest major cities in Finland (Helsinki, Turku and Tampere), in the Tavastia Prop ...

, and graduated as an architect from the

Helsinki University of Technology Helsinki University of Technology (TKK; ; , HUT in international usage) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the Helsinki metropolitan area, and it was one of the three universities from which the modern d ...

in 1935. After his graduation, he worked in the architect offices of

Alvar Aalto Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (; 3 February 1898 – 11 May 1976) was a Finnish architect and designer. His work includes architecture, furniture, textiles and glassware, as well as sculptures and paintings. He never regarded himself as an artist, see ...

and Toivo Paatela, before starting his own office in 1938. Ervi completed his most notable and well-known works during the post-war reconstruction period and later in the 1950s during the development of Finland's modern construction industry. Ervi was among the pioneers in the use of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

elements in Finnish architecture while working on the design of the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...

Porthania Porthania is a university building located in the center of Helsinki, Finland. It is part of the city centre campus of the University of Helsinki. Designed by Aarne Ervi and completed in 1957, it is one of the notable modernist buildings from t ...

building in 1949. He also designed hydro power plants and residential areas for the company's employees for Oulujoki Oy. One of Finland's largest hydro power plants in Pyhäkoski was designed by Ervi, as was nearly all of the nearby settlement, Leppiniemi. Ervi is probably best known for designing the town center plan of

Tapiola Tapiola (; ) is a district of the municipality of Espoo on the south coast of Finland, and is one of the major urban centres of Espoo. It is located in the western part of Helsinki capital region. The name ''Tapiola'' is derived from ''Tapio (spi ...

after winning a design contest held in 1954. He also designed many of its most recognizable buildings, including the

Tapiola Central Tower The Tapiola Central Tower ( Finnish: ''Tapiolan keskustorni'') is a high-rise building at the centre of the Tapiola garden city in northeastern Espoo, Finland. The tower is high and has 13 floors. It has a total floor space of . The tower was de ...

, shopping centers Tapiontori and Heikintori, and the swimming hall. Ervi was an honorary member of the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

and received an honorary doctorate from the

University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart () is a research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany with programs in civil, mechanical, ind ...

. He died in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, aged 67.

Works by Ervi

Oulujoki

*Pyhäkoski power plant and Leppiniemi in

Muhos Muhos is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of northern Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Oulu (province), Oulu half an hour's drive (35 km) on route 22 from the city of Oulu, the capital of Northern Finla ...

(1942–1951) *Jylhämä power plant and residential area in

Vaala Vaala () is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the North Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. Established in 1954 (predecessor municipality ''Säräisniemi'', established in 1867), the municipality has a population of () and covers ...

(1946–1950) *Nuojua power plant and residential area in Vaala (1946–1950) *Pälli power plant and residential area in Muhos (1946–1950) *Montta power plant in Muhos (1951) File:Pyhakoski Power Plant Muhos 2006 08 26.JPG, Pyhäkoski power plant File:Montta Power Plant Muhos 2006 08 26.JPG, Montta power plant

Tapiola

*Plan for the town center of Tapiola (1954) *Mäntytorni (1954) * Kino Tapiola (1955) *

and Tapiontori shopping center (1959–1961) *

Swimming hall A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

(1965–1968) * Heikintori shopping center (1968) File:TapiolaMantytorniH.jpg, Mäntytorni apartment building in Tapiola File:Kino Tapiola Espoo.jpg, Kino Tapiola File:Tapiolan uimahalli 2005.jpg, Tapiola swimming hall File:Heikintori.jpg, Heikintori shopping centre

Other works

*Pieksämäki water tower (1956) *The new campus for the

University of Turku The University of Turku (, shortened ''UTU'') is a multidisciplinary public university with eight faculties located in the city of Turku in southwestern Finland. The university also has campuses in Rauma and Pori and research stations in Kevo ...

(1956–1959) *The

building for the University of Helsinki (1957) *Culinary school Perho, Helsinki (1957) *Messukylä Gymnasium (1961) *The expansion of the

Kemi Kemi (; ; ; ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately from the city of Tornio and the Finland–Sweden border, Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and t ...

city hall (1967) *Töölö Library, the city library of Helsinki (1970)

Gallery

File:Tampere city central government office building.jpg,

Tampere City Central Office Building The Tampere City Central Office Building (; the so-called "White House") is an office building in Tampere, Finland, located on the edge of Tampere Central Square and the city's administrative center. Among other things, the council hall is locat ...

File:Pieksamaki_water_tower.jpg, Pieksämäki water tower File:Turun_yliopisto.jpg, University of Turku central plaza File:Porthania.jpg, Porthania File:Culinary_school_Perho.jpg, Culinary school Perho File:Kemi City Hall.jpg, Kemi city hall File:LibraryHelsinkiToolo.jpg, Töölö Library

External links

Aarne Ervi
at the Museum of Finnish Architecture
Tapiolan Keskus
at the Museum of Finnish Architecture

at the National Board of Antiquities of Finland {{DEFAULTSORT:Ervi, Aarne 1910 births 1977 deaths People from Forssa People from Häme Province (Grand Duchy of Finland) 20th-century Finnish architects