Torkkelinmäen asuinalue (Torkelsbackens bostadsområde)

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

The garden-city-style residential area of Torkkelinmäki, in the midst of Kallio's dense and efficient urban structure, reflects the renewal of urban planning aims directed at the living environment of the working class at the beginning of the 20th century. Pioneering areas in Helsinki built in the same period to improve the living conditions of the working population of the growing and industrialising capital are Vallila and Käpylä (see separate entries).

The Torkkelinpuistikko on the summit of Torkkelinmäki is surrounded by a curving street network following the contours of the terrain, in which the residential buildings stand loosely in the middle of their plots along narrow streets. The low, classicist stone houses with steep roofs, based on model drawings and mainly comprising one- and two-room apartments, were built in the late 1920s, and the area's greenery is based on contemporary planting schemes.

Torkkelinmäki is framed by a dense and continuous wall of red-brick buildings, which shields the hill along the edge of the major streets. Along Helsinginkatu, tall red-brick buildings form an impressive gateway to a staircase, which rises from the street through the educational institution built in 1930 on the slope, up to Torkkelinmäki.

History

In Kallio, Helsinki's most important working-class residential area, housing demand exceeded supply at the beginning of the 20th century. In the 1910s, Kallio's population almost doubled, nearly reaching its present-day level. A town plan was confirmed for Kallio in 1901. The details, which took architectural considerations into account, were influenced by architect Gustaf Nyström, as was the lively contemporary debate on the Töölö town plan, in whose design the terrain forms and varied street views were starting points. On the basis of the Kallio plan, during the intense building activity between the world wars, the district's stone, densely and efficiently built perimeter blocks arose along straight streets.

The shortcomings of housing policy and the housing shortage were vividly debated in the 1910s and 1920s. Alternatives were sought for the planning and implementation of Helsinki's non-profit and municipal housing production. The large plots of Kallio and the grandiose street network laid out on rocky terrain were criticised. Efforts were made to escape cramped living conditions by building green suburban areas outside the stone town, for the needs of working-class families with many children.

The efficient plan for Torkkelinmäki, located in the middle of Kallio, was not realised because of difficult terrain and expensive construction costs. The garden-city-style town plan amendment for Torkkelinmäki was drawn up by town plan architect Bertel Jung, assisted by architect Birger Brunila. The plan was confirmed in 1914. The town plan of the Eira villa town was cited as the model for Torkkelinmäki; in it, narrow streets follow the terrain and the low residential buildings are detached houses.

In connection with the sale of plots on Torkkelinmäki, facade plans were required to use facade schemes approved by the facade drawing inspection committee. Architect Jalmari Peltonen designed most of the buildings on the hill. The planting plan for the residential blocks was drawn up by Elisabeth Koch, who applied English garden design ideas in Finland already at an early stage.

The stone houses on Helsinginkatu and Fleminginkatu related to Torkkelinmäki are, as far as is known, the work of several designers, based on facade schemes. At the top of the staircase rising between the red-brick buildings on Helsinginkatu, on the slope of Torkkelinmäki, stands the kansalaiskorkeakoulu, built in 1930. The school was founded at the beginning of the independence era for talented young people who had no grammar school or matriculation background. The city handed over the plot, and teaching began in 1930 at the Yhteiskunnallinen Korkeakoulu, designed by architect Väinö Vähäkallio. The building was later taken into use by the university, and architect Olof Hansson designed the repair carried out in 1966.