Hvitträsk
Hvitträsk, Kirkkonummi:
SlideShows:
Hvitträsk was built between 1901-1903 by architects Herman
Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen. The main building,
designed in National Romantic style, built of logs and natural stone,
was both a common studio and a home for Eliel Saarinen and Armas
Lindgren for some years after it was completed. During that time,
Gesellius lived in the courtyard building and later moved into the
north-wing of the main building after Lindgren relocated in Helsinki.
During the early decades, the main building served as both an
architectural office and as a cultural home. It was visited by such
esteemed figures as Jean Sibelius, Axel Gallen-Kallela and Maksim Gorki.
The office's staff also lived at Hvitträsk, and this is where the plans
were drawn up for the Helsinki Railway Station, the National Museum of
Finland and the monumental Munkkiniemi-Haaga project, among other grand
works.
Hvitträsk is also the boyhood home for world famous architect Eero
Saarinen, who made his reputation primarily in the United States
designing buildings and monuments such as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis,
Missouri.
The Saarinen home is a museum today, and within the courtyard building
are a restaurant and a café. Hvitträsk and its lovely English style
garden are surrounded by beautiful nature near the shore of Lake Vitträsk.
http://www.kansallismuseo.fi/en/hvittrask
