022010

happy birthday nani!

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122009

the helsinki cathedral stands prominently attracting thousands of people since around a hundred fifty years ago. the scale of this structure allows it to stand out from far away as just another church. as one approaches it, the sight of the building is lost, and blocked by others. once you stand in front, in the small plaza with sculptures and incredible amounts of people just walking by or on the public farmer’s market

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just across from the sibeliuspuisto (sibelius park) in töölö, helsinki. commonly confused for a district, this part of helsinki is one of the richest in culture housing the national opera, national museum, zoological museum, olympic stadium, ice hall, etc. the town is in the western part of the helsinki peninsula and was built due to the masive growth of population in the 1920s. this body of water is actually not a lake, but actually salt water from the gulf of finland.

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the actual rock walls timo and tuomo suomalainen’s rock church in helsinki. rich in content: past and future. a different type of layering as we can see a heavy blend of textures, colors, layers, shades and effects. to what extent are these cut or natural? is the real color left in the past or carried along and how do we reflect this upon our way of being? really. we’ve done this for so long and admire it so much that we refuse to question possitively.

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the rock church was designed by architects and brothers timo and tuomo suomalainen. the interior was excavated and built into the rock, but is bathed in natural light entering through the glazed dome. the church is used frequently as a concert venue due to its excellent acoustics. the acoustic quality is ensured by the rough, virtually unworked, rock surfaces. there is beautiful detail work in copper and in wood. the detail shown here is the center of the dome – ceiling detailed with copper.

100809

this is another monument to jean sibelius, the finnish composer from the romantic period which i posted a previous momument of. this other abstract monument was made due to the scandals from the first monument that wasn’t taken with much public respect. from what i remember being told, it represents the steel losing its form, as it blends into his face.

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helsinki in a rainy day, looking from the church of the rock. the uniformity and pattern of the buildings bring a sense of comfort and the soft colors warm the environment even in the cold rains of june. looking into the city and buildings that create a subtle corridor complimented with small patches of green that battle the harsh long winters.

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this is a monument to jean sibelius, a finnish composer from the romantic period who had a very significant role in defining the finnish identity. this abstract monument designed by elia hiltunen consists of six hundred hollow steel pipes which represent the essence of sibelius’ music. being the first abstract monumet of finland, it has been strongly criticized through time as some of the finnish contributors prefered a more figurative representation.