Fellmaninpuisto, jälleenrakennuskauden oppilaitokset ja Hakatornit

English translation (from the Finnish)

The text above is the record as published by the Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), in Finnish. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto); it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

Fellmaninpuisto and the numerous monumental residential, commercial and public buildings and traffic routes bordering it are a good example of high-quality construction and design from the post-war reconstruction period. The development of the area was significantly influenced by people, companies and associations who moved to Lahti from Viipuri as a result of the war.

Fellmaninpuisto is a large, informally laid out park, around which the fan-shaped town plan area is located, to the west of the older grid-plan area of the town. The area is bounded by Hollolankatu and Jalkarannantie, which lead from Paasikivenaukio, a square that acts as a traffic divider. The green centre of the area is Fellmaninpuisto. In addition to plantings, the park contains the Punavankien muistomerkki.

On the western edge of Fellmaninpuisto, along the curved alignment of Svinhufvudinkatu, is a large group of school buildings designed by architects Olli and Eija Saijonmaa. The ensemble, made up of buildings of varying heights, is arranged airily around open courtyards.

The housing cooperative Hakan, which built the Hakatornit, represents the social building activity typical of the era. They form a dominant element along Hollolankatu and Paasikivenkatu. In the housing department of Kulutusosuuskuntien Keskusliitto, architects Mauri Karkulahti and Eino Tuompo designed seven loosely spaced nine-storey tower blocks.

At the eastern tip of the park is Paasikiven aukio, a space of considerable significance both for traffic and for the townscape. At the intersection, on the Fellmaninpuisto side, are Pellonkulma, designed by architect Unto Ojonen, and Suojalinna, designed by architect Jalmari Lankinen, nine-storey residential and commercial buildings that form a gateway-like ensemble at the end of Paasikivenkatu. Next to the traffic divider there is also a concert hall designed by Heikki and Kaija Sirén.

History

Until the 1920s, the western boundary of the market town of Lahti, and later of the city, was formed by the Lahti manor and its extensive fields on the shore of Lake Vesijärvi, which were known as Fellman's field after the owner of the manor. In the final days of the Civil War in 1918, the retreat of the Reds' Western Army ended at Fellman's field. The field area served as a temporary prison camp for some 20,000 Reds.

The Lahti manor area was incorporated into the town in 1919. Lahti's first general plan, designed by town plan architect Olavi Laisaari, was completed in 1946. In addition to traffic, the plan emphasised parks and recreational areas.

As a result of the wars, the population of the city of Lahti grew significantly, which was reflected in the townscape in the form of intensive building activity. In addition to housing, schools, parks and industrial plants were built.

Construction on Fellman's field began at the edge of Paasikivenaukio, where the nine-storey residential and commercial buildings Suojalinna and Pellonkulma, completed in 1947 and 1953, rose. The concert hall was completed in 1954.

The school buildings on the western side of the area were built in 1953–1956 on the basis of an architectural competition. The block housed a boys' vocational school, a commercial college, a home industries college, a technical school, a school of woodworking industry, a girls' vocational school, and shared facilities of the educational institutions, such as an assembly hall, swimming hall, gymnasium and library. The Hakatornit towers were completed in 1951–1956. In the northern part of the area, the sports hall designed by Unto Ojonen was built in 1957, and it was extended in 1976 according to the plans of building architects Ossi Rajala and Ilpo Hälvä.

The field area left between the residential buildings, schools and traffic routes was developed into Fellmaninpuisto park in the late 1950s. The field was converted into an undulating and varied park according to the plans of city gardener Erkki Kivivuori. The plans were completed and clearing began in 1959. The park was completed in the early 1960s. The Punavankimuistomerkki, designed by sculptor Erkki Kannosto, was erected in the park in 1978.

The territorial losses that followed the wars played a central role in shaping the development of the area. In addition to evacuees, various companies, industrial plants, schools and associations moved to Lahti from Viipuri, and these greatly influenced the construction and planning of the area. The most visible examples, in addition to housing and commercial premises, included, among others, the concert hall, the Orthodox church, the Diakonissalaitos, the sports hall and the school centre.