#1 Wahrzeichen
Verfasst: 9. Aug 2006 11:34
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Wow+ar ... 5220976000
Fortsetzung folgt..."Wow" architecture does not fit comfortably into the Helsinki skyline
Deputy Mayor Pekka Korpinen would like to see an example of jaw-dropping architecture in the capital
By Hannu Pöppönen
Ever since its completion, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao has been used as a textbook example of how architecture rescued a rather scruffy harbour city from being ignored and falling off the map.
The design, by American architect Frank Gehry, for the spectacular edifice of glass, limestone and titanium cladding is also a typical example of what is these days referred to as "wow architecture", often the handiwork of superstar signature architects.
This term - which was launched on the world by New York Times architecture critic Herbert Muschamp - pertains to awe-inspiring, "totally gobsmacking" buildings that world-famous architects have been designing around the world in recent years. Aside from the Bilbao Guggenheim, classic examples include the 145-metre high guided missile that is the Torre Agbar in Barcelona, or the Jewish Museum in Berlin.
This begs a question: could an iconic edifice from some prominent architectural name get the same volume of tourist masses flocking to Helsinki as the Guggenheim has done for Bilbao - as was pondered in a Helsingin Sanomat editorial late last month?
Yes, believes Pekka Korpinen, Helsnki's Mayor for City Planning and Real Estate.
"Finnish architecture is at a high general level, but the real peaks are lacking. If one runs a finger down the list of the top ten names in contemporary international architecture, there are no Finns to be found."
One such "iconic structure" could have been the information centre for architecture, design, and building that was planned for a waterfront site in Katajanokka. However, the project - under the working name Armi - came tumbling down after the Finnish Society for Crafts and Design withdraw their support for the venture.
"But the site is still there. This sort of stand-out building could be erected on the spot", argues Korpinen.
He nevertheless stresses that the idea is not merely to get an eye-catching or wacky-looking edifice for Helsinki, but one that grows out of a real need.
Other alternatives in Korpinen's view could be the area around the present Olympia Quay in the South Harbour, or the soon-to-be-redeveloped areas of Sörnäinen or Jätkäsaari, two harbours that will be up for grabs when the new port of Vuosaari comes into service. All three of these venues would accentuate the capital's position as a city on the sea.
Architect Kaarin Taipale, who is also a member of the City of Helsinki's Harbour Committee, compares Jätkäsaari to the massive urban redevelopment going on in the Hafen City area close to the centre of Hamburg - and Jätkäsaari comes off very much second-best.
"Unlike in Hamburg, in Jätkäsaari the development of the shoreline has been forgotten. It is not just an important shop-window for the city but also a key tool in business policy management. In Hamburg they are starting from the assumption that it is a port city by the sea, and they are bringing this history up to date."
The Swiss architect's office of Herzog and de Meuron, who were responsible for the impressive London Tate Modern museum in the former Bankside power station, have designed the Elbe Philarmonic concert hall to sit spectacularly atop a former harbour warehouse, forming one of the area's wow-buildings.
"Some logistics firm or some institution or other, something that would bring life to the entire district of the city. That is what we need. Otherwise it is going to become a ghastly suburb. It was Helsinki's loss and Kotka's gain that the Maritime Museum of Finland is being built in Kotka."