Kristian Gullichsen
Encyclopedia
Kristian Gullichsen is a Finnish architect. The son of Harry and Maire Gullichsen
he was born into a family of industrialists, designers and artists.
Kristian Gullichsen has been a member of the board of governors of the Alvar Aalto Academy and the committee of the Alvar Aalto Symposium. From 1988 to 1993 he held the title of Finnish State Artist Professor.
Kristian Gullichsen has three sons and two daughters, one of the sons is the artist Alvar Gullichsen. Gullichsen has been married twice; his second wife is architect Kirsi Gullichsen (née Parkkinen) (born 1964).
(1938-39) in Noormarkku, designed by Aalto, one of the seminal houses of 20th century modernist architecture. Kristian was seven years old when his family moved into the house in August 1939. The family was close friends of the Aalto family, and Aalto was responsible for designing the company factories and communities, as part of the company ideology of enculturation. Kristian played with the Aalto children and did odd jobs in the Aalto architects' office.
, qulaifying as an architect in 1960, after which he returned to the Aalto office to work as an assistant architect, before founding his own office in 1961. From 1965 to 1967 he was also Head of the Exhibitions Office of the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki. In his early career he did a number of joint works with other architects such as Kirmo Mikkola and Juhani Pallasmaa
. Of such projects the most memorable historically was the so-called Moduli 225 house (1969-1971), an industrially produced prefabricated summer house, built in timber, steel and glass, influenced by Japanese house design, the teachings of his mentor, Finnish architect and professor, Aulis Blomstedt and the minimalist houses of Mies van der Rohe. Seventy of the houses were built, but few remain today because they could not withstand the Finnish climate.
The work of the office reached international attention in the late 1970s and early 1980s, described by the British journal The Architectural Review
as constituting the "Cool Helsinki School". Gullichsen's mature architecture can be seen as a late-modernist style, combining the minimalist aesthetic of pure modernism with the humanist touches and concern for locality, craftsmanship and materials derived from Aalto.
Ahlström-Gullichsen family
The Ahlström family is a Finnish family of industrialists, designers and artists. They are known for being the founding family behind the Ahlstrom Corporation and for their cooperation with Alvar Aalto-Notable members:...
he was born into a family of industrialists, designers and artists.
Kristian Gullichsen has been a member of the board of governors of the Alvar Aalto Academy and the committee of the Alvar Aalto Symposium. From 1988 to 1993 he held the title of Finnish State Artist Professor.
Kristian Gullichsen has three sons and two daughters, one of the sons is the artist Alvar Gullichsen. Gullichsen has been married twice; his second wife is architect Kirsi Gullichsen (née Parkkinen) (born 1964).
Childhood
The Gullichsen family home was the world famous Villa MaireaVilla Mairea
Villa Mairea is a villa, guest-house, and rural retreat designed and built by the Finnish modernist architect Alvar Aalto for Harry and Maire Gullichsen in Noormarkku, Finland....
(1938-39) in Noormarkku, designed by Aalto, one of the seminal houses of 20th century modernist architecture. Kristian was seven years old when his family moved into the house in August 1939. The family was close friends of the Aalto family, and Aalto was responsible for designing the company factories and communities, as part of the company ideology of enculturation. Kristian played with the Aalto children and did odd jobs in the Aalto architects' office.
Early career
Kristian Gullichsen studied architecture at Helsinki University of TechnologyHelsinki University of Technology
Aalto University School of Science and Technology , was the temporary name for Helsinki University of Technology during the process of forming the Aalto University...
, qulaifying as an architect in 1960, after which he returned to the Aalto office to work as an assistant architect, before founding his own office in 1961. From 1965 to 1967 he was also Head of the Exhibitions Office of the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki. In his early career he did a number of joint works with other architects such as Kirmo Mikkola and Juhani Pallasmaa
Juhani Pallasmaa
Juhani Uolevi Pallasmaa is a Finnish architect and former professor of architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology and a former Director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture . He runs his own architect's office – Arkkitehtitoimisto Juhani Pallasmaa KY – in Helsinki...
. Of such projects the most memorable historically was the so-called Moduli 225 house (1969-1971), an industrially produced prefabricated summer house, built in timber, steel and glass, influenced by Japanese house design, the teachings of his mentor, Finnish architect and professor, Aulis Blomstedt and the minimalist houses of Mies van der Rohe. Seventy of the houses were built, but few remain today because they could not withstand the Finnish climate.
Mature career
In 1969 Gullichsen founded a partnership in Helsinki with architects Erkki Kairamo and Timo Vormala, Arkkitehdit KY, which continued until Kairamo's death in 1997. The three partners presented different architectural modernist styles, Gullichsen the monumental, Kairamo the constructivist and Varmola the typological. Since Kairamo's death Gullichsen and Vormala have continued together as Gullichsen Vormala Arkkitehdit.The work of the office reached international attention in the late 1970s and early 1980s, described by the British journal The Architectural Review
Architectural Review
The Architectural Review is a monthly international architectural magazine published in London since 1896. Articles cover the built environment which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism as well as theory of these subjects....
as constituting the "Cool Helsinki School". Gullichsen's mature architecture can be seen as a late-modernist style, combining the minimalist aesthetic of pure modernism with the humanist touches and concern for locality, craftsmanship and materials derived from Aalto.
A selection of works by Kristian Gullichsen
- KauniainenKauniainenKauniainen is a small town and a municipality of inhabitants in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland. It is surrounded by the city of Espoo, in Greater Helsinki...
Parish Centre, Helsinki (1985) - PieksämäkiPieksämäkiPieksämäki is a town and municipality of Finland. Its original name was Haukivuori .It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region.The town has a population of and covers an area of of which is water...
Civic Centre (1990) - Stockmann Department StoreStockmann, Helsinki centreThe Stockmann department store is a culturally significant business building and department store located in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. It is one of many department stores owned by the Stockmann corporation. Annually, about 17 million customers visit the store and it is thus the largest...
Extension, Helsinki (1986) - Olympos Housing, Myllytie 6, KaivopuistoKaivopuistoKaivopuisto , or in spoken language, Kaivari, is one of the oldest and best known parks in central Helsinki, Finland, and also a neighbourhood of about 500 inhabitants where the park is located.-Geography:...
, Helsinki (1995) - University of LleidaUniversity of LleidaThe University of Lleida is a university based in Lleida , Spain. It was the first university in Catalonia and the whole Crown of Aragon...
Library and Science Centre, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(2003). - Finnish Embassy, StockholmStockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
(2002). - Gullichsen's own summer cottage in the archipelago, Hiittinen (1994)
Books on the works of Kristian Gullichsen
- 7 Approaches. Arkkitehtuurin Nykyhetki - 7 Nakokulmaa. Kristian Gullichsen, Erkki Kairamo, Timo Vormala, Juha LeiviskäJuha LeiviskäJuha Ilmari Leiviskä is a prominent architect from Finland.- Life and career :The son of engineer Toivo Ilmari Leiviskä and teacher Sonja Jämsén-Astala, Leiviskä studied architecture at Helsinki University of Technology, qualifying as an architect in 1963...
, Kari Jarvinen, Timo Airas, Pekka Helin, Tuomo Siitonen, Kapy Paavilainen, Simo PaavilainenSimo PaavilainenSimo Paavilainen is a Finnish architect, and former Dean and Professor of Architecture at Helsinki University of Technology Department of Architecture....
, Mikko Heikkinen, Exhibition Catalogue. Museum of Finnish Architecture, 1990. - Sebastiano Brandolini, Kristian Gullichsen, Erikki Kairamo, Timo Vormala: Architecture 1969-2000. Skira, Milan 2000.
- Colin St John WilsonColin St John WilsonSir Colin Alexander St John Wilson, FRIBA, RA, was a British architect, lecturer and author. He spent over 30 years progressing the project to build a new British Library in London, originally planned to be built in Bloomsbury and now completed near Kings Cross.-Early and private life:Wilson was...
, Gullichsen, Kairamo, Vormala, 1967-1990. Barcelona, 1990.
See also
- Ahlström — Gullichsen family