April 26: Southern Finland tour – Säynätsalo 1

We headed back to Helsinki after Jyväskylä but made a couple of nearby stops on the way, in both cases for Aalto buildings once again. The first was, like Villa Mairea, a project I was particularly excited to see because of having encountered it so much in my studies: Säynätsalo Town Hall, built in 1951.

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Like that stairway in the Jyväskylä U building, the Town Hall was inspired by Italian hill towns; its courtyard, up at the top of these front stairs, is well higher than the surrounding land.

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Some terra cotta happenings in the courtyard, forget what the story on this is.

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A look into a corridor from the courtyard.

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The iconic tower, housing the assembly hall.

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Corridor/courtyard corner.

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More ceramic inlay action.

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Clerestories for the stairs up to the assembly hall. I really like the proportions of these volumes.

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Backside stairs, exciting to hop down because their retaining boards are generally higher than the grassy treads they're retaining. Also, a more holistic view of the tower volumes.

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Around the back side, private apartments.

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Now inside the main corridor, looking back out into the courtyard.

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Looking up the stairs to the assembly hall, which wrap around the hall as they ascend.

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Some fun pallety doors.

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Love the wood and brick together.

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Nice thermal-mass benches in the corridor, just thermally massing in the sun.

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North edge of the courtyard.

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The famous spidery trusses of the assembly hall ceiling.

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The window lets a lot of light in sideways...

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...but not frontways.

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Roofs around the courtyard.

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Nice louveration for this array of windows.

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A different take thereon.