April 23: Southern Finland tour – Åbo Akademi

Adjacent to the cathedral is the campus of Åbo Akademi (Turku Academy), the only Swedish-language university in Finland. We toured several of its buildings.

7823

The library, a fine classic-modern building with some details that evoke Stockholm. It was designed by Erik Bryggman, a Turku native, more of whose work we will shortly see, and it was completed in 1935.

7824

A view back to the cathedral.

7827

Well-crafted stairs.

7829

Back outside: most of the cathedral.

7831

The Sibelius Museum, a very interesting building designed by Woldemar Baeckman in the 1960s.

7835

The auditorium area, which is flanked by exhibit halls, has this mushroom-like structure.

7845

The clerestory windows provide nice daylight.

7847

Cool stairwell too.

7848

SYNTHESIZER ROOM :3

7849

Reflected daylight on concrete, a definite strength of Nordic architecture.

7853

Moving on to the Arken complex, an infill project of older buildings, as you can see. It houses a varied program, including auditorium(s?), offices, and cafeteria, and probably a lot more.