The Seinäjoki Civil Guard House (; ) is a building located in

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; , formerly ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the Seinäjoki (river), River Seinäjoki. The population of Sein ...

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, ...

. It is notable for being one of the first public buildings designed entirely by the Finnish

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 ...

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 is considered one of his breakthrough works.

Background and use

The building was designed by Aalto in 1924–1926, to serve as the headquarters of the

South Ostrobothnia South Ostrobothnia ( ; ) is one of the 19 regions of Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, and Satakunta. Among the Finnish regions, South Ostrobothnia is the ninth largest in terms ...

division of the Finnish Civil Guard (aka. White Guard, or Defence Corps) voluntary

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

and the related

Lotta Svärd Lotta Svärd () was a Finnish voluntary auxiliary paramilitary organisation for women. Formed originally in 1918, it had a large membership undertaking volunteer social work in the 1920s and 1930s. It was formed to support the White Guard. Duri ...

women's auxiliary organisation. After the end of World War II (or

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

, in the Finnish context), the Civil Guard and Lotta Svärd organisations were disbanded as stipulated in the peace treaty with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and the building was leased to a youth cultural organisation ('), with other tenants over time including a school. Since 1990, the building has been home to the Suojeluskunta & Lotta Svärd Museum, as part of the City of Seinäjoki museum network.

Design

The design, in the Nordic classical style, is considered one of the main works from Aalto's earlier neoclassical period, predating the

modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

style for which he is more widely known. The main interior features were also designed by Aalto, and are stylistically in similar vein; per Alvar Aalto Foundation,

The unusual stair hall, facade pilasters, and assembly hall repainted in Pompeiian style. ..Aalto originally designed a loggia-like staircase for the end entrance, but it was not built.

The building complex consists of three buildings and a courtyard enclosed by them. The main building comprises three

storey A storey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or story (American English), is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the wor ...

s, and is of

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

(ground floor) and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

(first and second floors) construction. The ground floor is partly subterranean, and houses a circular assembly hall. The top floor was originally intended for residential use, with further accommodation found in one of the separate buildings. The courtyard was originally intended for

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

and

foot drill Foot drill is a part of the training regimen of organized military and paramilitary elements worldwide. It is also practiced by other public services such as police forces, fire and ambulance services. "Foot drill" or "Drill" stems from time si ...

use, and now houses the 1988 statue ' and related

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

by Finnish sculptor,

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Pentti Papinaho Pentti Papinaho (2 June 1926 — 8 March 1992) was a Finnish sculptor especially known for his public works featuring military, patriotic or religious themes, active particularly in the Tavastia region of Finland. Education Papinaho studied a ...

. In 2002, the building complex was designated and protected by the

Finnish Heritage Agency The Finnish Heritage Agency (, ), previously known in English as the National Board of Antiquities, preserves Finland's material cultural heritage: collects, studies and distributes knowledge of it. The agency is a cultural and research institutio ...

as a nationally important built cultural environment (''Valtakunnallisesti merkittävä rakennettu kulttuuriympäristö'').

References

{{Seinäjoki Cityscape Alvar Aalto buildings Seinäjoki Buildings and structures in South Ostrobothnia

Background and use

Design

See also

References