Korian kasarmialue

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

Koria is a historically layered barracks area. Its soldiers' home building is included in the selection of Finnish modernist landmark works approved by the international DOCOMOMO organisation, as part of the Finnish Defence Forces' architecture of the 1930s.

The Koria barracks area lies along the Kymijoki, at the junction of the river and the railway. The barracks buildings are arranged in a ring along the edge of a large central field. The first building phase of the area, from the early 20th century, consists of red-brick garrison buildings built to Russian standard drawings.

The barracks were extended by Finnish builders with classicist military construction of the 1920s and, further, with modernist architecture of the 1930s. The white-rendered soldiers' home was completed in 1938, designed by architect Elsi Borg. The progressive architecture of the Finnish Defence Forces in the 1930s expresses a desire to use architecture also to convey an image of a dynamic defence establishment and a modern Finland. Other 1930s sites worth mentioning include the Tilkka military hospital, the motor company barracks and the Santahamina cadet school in Helsinki, and the Immola barracks area in Imatra.

History

The construction of the Koria barracks area was linked to the concentration of Imperial Russian forces before the First World War. From around 1910 onwards, preparations were made in southern Finland to repel landing attempts and, among other things, to secure railway links. The plans were related to securing the northern flank of Pietari.

The Koria barracks was sited beside the Riihimäki-Pietari railway. The land was purchased from private owners. The first building phase, 1911-1915, comprised seven garrison buildings: an officers' club, barracks, utility and storehouse buildings. The officers' building was completed in 1927, the pioneer school designed by Olavi Sorta in 1936, and the soldiers' home designed by Elsi Borg in 1938.

The long-term user of the Koria barracks area, the Kymi Pioneer Battalion, was decided in 1989 to be moved to the Vekaranjärvi garrison, which meant the end of military use of the Koria barracks area. The former garrison area has been in civilian use since 1994, including as a residential and leisure area.