The Polytechnic Students' Union or Sampo Building is a

National Romantic Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...

building at Lönnrotinkatu 29 in central Helsinki, designed in 1903 by

Karl Lindahl Karl Fritz Lindahl (26 September 1890 – 29 June 1960) was a Swedish gymnast who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwe ...

and

Walter Thomé Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

. It has since become a hotel and is often called the ''Vanha Poli'' (old poly).

Building

In 1901, after two competitions, Lindahl and Thomé won the commission to design a student union for the Helsinki Polytechnic Institute;Jonathan Moorhouse, Michael Carapetian and Leena Ahtola-Moorhouse, ''Helsinki Jugendstil Architecture, 1895–1915'', Helsinki: Otava, 1987, , pp. 164–65. it was their first major commission.John Howard, ''Art Nouveau: International and National Styles in Europe'', Critical introductions to art, Manchester/New York: Manchester University Press, 1996,
p. 181
They named the building after the mysterious machine in ''

Kalevala The ''Kalevala'' () is a 19th-century compilation of epic poetry, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Karelian and Finnish oral folklore and mythology, telling a story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and retaliatory ...

'', the

Sampo In Finnish mythology, the ''Sampo'' () is a magical device or object described in many different ways, constructed by the blacksmith and inventor Ilmarinen and which brings riches and good fortune to its holder, akin to the horn of plenty (corn ...

, and designed the whole building in National Romantic style, including the wall friezes. The exterior walls are squared rubble granite (changed from rendered stone in the original design) with a round tower, and the façade used forms derived from

Karelia Karelia (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; , historically Коре́ла, ''Korela'' []; ) is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Russia (including the Soviet Union, Soviet era), Finland, and Sweden. It is currentl ...

n gables and medieval house-fronts, and originally complemented the low wooden buildings on either side. The combination of natural stone and medieval features in the design was common in National Romantic buildings at the time. The interior was multi-functional, including fraternity rooms, a restaurant, and a meeting hall two storeys high and measuring , as well as ground-floor shops. A functional mixture of medieval and modern motifs includes log walls and heavy wood columns in the main hall, pillars built from rocks elsewhere in the building, abstract ceiling decoration and woodpecker

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...

s. The original furniture was designed by Count

Louis Sparre Pehr Louis Sparre af Söfdeborg (3 August 1863 – 26 October 1964) was a Swedish painter, designer and draughtsman, most noted for his early work in the Finnish national romanticism and jugend styles. He also competed in the individual ...

History

In the 1990s an extension with an interior courtyard was added, and the building became a hotel. It is now known as the ''Vanha Poli'' (Old Poly)."Vanhalle Polille taidehotelli"
''

Ilta-Sanomat is one of Finland's two prominent tabloid-size evening newspapers and the largest paper in the country. Its counterpart and biggest rival is '' Iltalehti''. According to the National Media Research done in 2019, ''Ilta-Sanomat'' is also the bi ...

'', 3 February 2012, .

References

External links

GLO Hotelli Helsinki Art
(in the Vanha Poli building) {{Coord, 60, 9, 51.44, N, 24, 55, 56.14, E, display=title National Romantic architecture in Finland Art Nouveau architecture in Helsinki Buildings and structures completed in 1903