The Library II
The Polytechnic Students' Union or Sampo Building is a National Romantic building at Lönnrotinkatu 29 in central Helsinki, designed in 1903 by Karl Lindahl and Walter Thomé. It has since become a hotel and is often called the Vanha Poli (old poly).
In 1901, after two competitions, Lindahl and Thomé won the commission to design a student union for the Helsinki Polytechnic Institute; it was their first major commission.
They named the building after the mysterious machine in Kalevala, the Sampo, 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 Karelian 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 17.5 by 13.1 metres (57 ft × 43 ft), 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 corbels. The original furniture was designed by Count Louis Sparre.
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).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytechnic_Students%27_Union
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The impressive GLO Hotel Art is an arresting sight. Since 1903, it has been one of Helsinki’s premier cultural-historic landmarks – and an archetypical example of the breath-taking turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau style. It is more castle than building, with its majestic towers and balconies. Its imposing walls of grey granite cast an enticing aura, and the playful arch windows and statuesque doors do more to draw you in. Inside there is plenty of ornamentation to delight the eye, with stylized and boldly colorful nature motifs that fascinate at every turn.
Architecture such as this is truly one-of-a-kind, a union of the delicate European Art Nouveau tradition with its offshoot, Finland’s National Romantic style. The building tells the story of a nation rediscovering its roots and waking up its ancient shared identity.
GLO Hotel Art is one of Helsinki’s best-loved architectural gems. Designed by Karl Lindahl and Walter Thomé, the striking edifice was originally intended to serve as the leisure headquarters for the students of the nearby Polytechnical Institute.
Now, after years of living quietly, the castle on Lönnrotinkatu has been restored to its former magnificent glory. Every inch of GLO Hotel Art has been painstakingly renovated to reveal its original beauty. Standing in the building one can sense the swirl of emotion that Finland experienced in the early 20th century, as it dreamed of achieving sovereign nation status.
The Library II
The Polytechnic Students' Union or Sampo Building is a National Romantic building at Lönnrotinkatu 29 in central Helsinki, designed in 1903 by Karl Lindahl and Walter Thomé. It has since become a hotel and is often called the Vanha Poli (old poly).
In 1901, after two competitions, Lindahl and Thomé won the commission to design a student union for the Helsinki Polytechnic Institute; it was their first major commission.
They named the building after the mysterious machine in Kalevala, the Sampo, 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 Karelian 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 17.5 by 13.1 metres (57 ft × 43 ft), 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 corbels. The original furniture was designed by Count Louis Sparre.
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).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytechnic_Students%27_Union
==============================================
The impressive GLO Hotel Art is an arresting sight. Since 1903, it has been one of Helsinki’s premier cultural-historic landmarks – and an archetypical example of the breath-taking turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau style. It is more castle than building, with its majestic towers and balconies. Its imposing walls of grey granite cast an enticing aura, and the playful arch windows and statuesque doors do more to draw you in. Inside there is plenty of ornamentation to delight the eye, with stylized and boldly colorful nature motifs that fascinate at every turn.
Architecture such as this is truly one-of-a-kind, a union of the delicate European Art Nouveau tradition with its offshoot, Finland’s National Romantic style. The building tells the story of a nation rediscovering its roots and waking up its ancient shared identity.
GLO Hotel Art is one of Helsinki’s best-loved architectural gems. Designed by Karl Lindahl and Walter Thomé, the striking edifice was originally intended to serve as the leisure headquarters for the students of the nearby Polytechnical Institute.
Now, after years of living quietly, the castle on Lönnrotinkatu has been restored to its former magnificent glory. Every inch of GLO Hotel Art has been painstakingly renovated to reveal its original beauty. Standing in the building one can sense the swirl of emotion that Finland experienced in the early 20th century, as it dreamed of achieving sovereign nation status.