Vyborg Library

The Municipal Library in Vyborg, Russia (built during Finnish rule when the city's name was "Viipuri" in Finnish) is an internationally acclaimed design by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. The library, built in 1933–35 and "considered the first manifestation of regional modernism"Christian Norberg-Schulz. "Nightlands: Nordic Building". MIT Press, 1997. ISBN 978-0-262-64036-7. Page 164.] , used to be famous for its wave-shaped ceiling in the auditorium.

History

Aalto's design went through a profound transformation from the original architectural competition proposal in 1927, designed in a classical style (owing much to Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund) to the severely functionalist building, completed eight years later in a purist modernist style. Such architectural solutions as a sunken reading-well, free-flowing ceilings and cylindrical skylights, first tested in Viipuri, would regularly appear in Aalto's works. Aalto differed from the first generation of modernist architects (such as Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier) in his predilection for natural materials: in this design, "wood was first introduced into an otherwise modernist setting of concrete, white stucco, glass, and steel". [Michael Trencher. "Alvar Aalto Guide". Princeton Architectural Press, 1996. ISBN 978-0-910413-55-8. Page 28.]

World War II marked a turning point in the history not only of the library but the city of Vyborg itself, as it was ceded to the Soviet Union. The building had been damaged during WWII, and plans by the new Soviet authorities to repair it were proposed but never carried out. [Michael Spens, "Viipuri Library. Alvar Aalto". Academy editions, London, 1994, page 72. ISBN 978-1-85490-366-2.] The building then remained empty for a decade, causing even more damage, including the destruction of the wave-shaped auditorium ceiling. During the 1950s schemes were drawn up for its restoration — including a version in the Stalinist classical style typical of the time — by architect Aleksandr Shver.

Until the coming to power of Mikhail Gorbachev, few visitors from the West visited Vyborg, and there were many different accounts in Western architectural texts about the condition of the library, including erroneous reports of its complete destruction. [Malcolm Quantrill. "Finnish Architecture and the Modernist Tradition". Spon Press (UK), 1998. ISBN 978-0-419-19520-7. Page 74.] The building is now included in the Russian Federation's list of objects of historical and cultural heritage. Russian and Finnish committees have been founded to promote the restoration of the building, which has been progressing piecemeal, while the building remains in public use.Finnish Committee for the Restoration of Viipuri Library, "The Getty Grant Report", Alvar Aalto Academy, 2001 (no ISBN) ] The restoration is being directed by the Alvar Aalto Academy, under the direction of architect Tapani Mustonen. To date (2006), the exterior shell of the building, including the roofs and the roof-lights have all been repaired and work has started on the interior. During 2008 the undulating suspended auditorium ceiling is being reconstructed, and is due for completion in autumn 2008. [http://www.aalto.vbg.ru/Unit4/info.shtm]

In September 2003 an International seminar and workshop was held at the library, under the auspicies of DOCOMOMO, to discuss the restoration of the library, as well as its role within the local community. Experts in restoration from around the world attended. [Ola Wedebrunn et al (ed), "Technology of Sensations. The Alvar Aalto Vyborg Library." DOCOMOMO, Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, 2004. ISBN 978-87-7830-108-6.]

The library has also been the starting point for a very different kind of art project, a film titled "What's the time in Vyborg?" (2002) by Finnish-American artist Liisa Roberts. Roberts was challenging the introspective view Finns have of their former city, by organising and filming writing workshops arranged for local Vyborg youths.Tere Vaden, Mika Hannula, Juha Suoranta, "Artistic Research. Theories, Methods, and Practices". Kuvataideakatemia, 2005. ISBN 978-951-53-2743-7 ]

Quotes

When I designed the Viipuri City Library (and I had plenty of time, a whole five years), I spent long periods getting my range, as it were, with naive drawings. I drew all kinds of fantastic mountain landscapes, with slopes lit by many suns in different positions, which gradually gave rise to the main idea of the building. The architectural framework of the library comprises several reading and lending areas stepped at different levels, with the administrative and supervisory centre at the peak. My childlike drawings were only indirectly linked with architectural thinking, but they eventually led to an interweaving of the section and ground plan, and to a kind of unity of horizontal and vertical construction. (Alvar Aalto, "The Trout and the Stream", 1947) [Göran Schildt (ed), "Alvar Aalto in his Own Words". Otava, 1997, page 108. ISBN 978-951-1-15065-7.]

Trivia

*The famous photograph of the auditorium ceiling (see above) shows no lamps. The picture was taken just prior to their installation. [Petra Ceferin, "Constructing a
]
*In 1998, to mark the 100th anniversary of Aalto's birth, a 2×10-metre section of the auditorium ceiling was reconstructed.

References

External links

*ru icon [http://www.aalto.vbg.ru/ Website of the library]
* [http://www.alvaraalto.fi/viipuri/ Alvar Aalto Foundation website]
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