The charm of the 1950s and the Helsinki School of Business and Administration
Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen, Architect, Arch-Tours
The main building of the Helsinki School of Business and Administration wasdesigned by the architects Hugo
Harmia and Woldemar Baeckman and built in1948-50, the post-war years. The building is an outstanding example
ofFinnish architecture of the 1940s with its romanticism of materials combinedwith the modernist basic idea. The
location of the building in its urbansurroundings, on the main streets leading into the city centre, and at theterminus
of many vistas is important. The volume of the building reflectsthe functions and their hierarchy, the central wing
being the core componentand the side wings containing spaces for theoretical and practicalinstruction and
administration. Upon its completion the building was a totalwork of art, in which architecture, interior design,
art and technicalaspects formed an integrated whole. Several prominent interior designers andartists were involved in
the design of it. In the 1995 the building wasincluded in the international Docomomo register of listed 20th
centuryModernist buildings.The renovation intended to serve changed teaching needs such as independentstudy and
information technology and to provide new office space. It soughtalso to preserve the buildings rare 1940s interior
and ambience. Therenovation planned and designed by Nurmela-Raimoranta-Tasa Architects wascarried out 1996-
98.The spaces of the building were divided into "classes" according to therenovation principles. The auditoriums
and the main lobbies were mostlypreserved and refurbished in their original design. Major changes werecarried out
in the administrative, seminar and laboratory rooms which wererearranged on the combi office principle. The
present legislation ofaccessibility required new lift and ramp connections. Air conditioning andelectrical
installations were almost totally and water and sewage pipesthroughout replaced. In the court yard a glazed
extension sheltering thelift and the bridges was built.The original materials, furniture and fixture of the building;
plywoodpanelled surfaces, wooden and brass details were in the main spaces largelyrefurbished or renewed
according to the original models. The yellow brickfacades were carefully cleaned.
Sirkkaliisa JetsonenArchitectArch-Tours OyLinnankoskenkatu 1 A 2000250 Helsinki
