Arkkitehtuurin romantikko

Jugendarkkitehti Gustaf Estlander

220 x 280 mm, hard cover
168 pages
Writers Eero Okkonen, Petteri Kummala (foreword)
Layout Ville Karppanen
Finnish
ISBN 978-952-7441-53-4
Museum of Finnish Architecture & Design Museum
2024
42 €

Gustaf Estlander (1876–1930) was one of Finland’s most prolific architects of multistorey residential buildings in the early 20th century. Reflecting the stylistic movements of his day, Estlander’s many romantic ‘castles’ have left an enduring mark on the townscapes of Helsinki, indeed his oeuvre contributed to shaping the whole concept of what is understood by Finnish Jugendstil (Art Nouveau). Estlander additionally played a notable role in Helsinki’s urban development as the founder of many housing cooperatives and designer of housing for people of all social classes. In his youth, Estlander excelled as a speed skater, and at the age of 40 he gave up architecture to become a full-time sailboat designer, a field in which he was recognized as a leading world master.

Although nearly all his buildings are still standing today, Estlander’s architecture has been hitherto overlooked both by the public and the academia, presumably because he never designed any major public buildings and never took part in his era’s theoretical debate.

This book by architect and researcher Eero Okkonen provides a comprehensive overview of Gustaf Estlander’s many-faceted architecture and Helsinki’s high-rise evolution.