Architect Vilhelm Helander awarded honorary title of Art Academician
Lari Järnefelt
Alexander Stubb, President of the Republic of Finland, has awarded the title of Art Academician to architect and professor emeritus Vilhelm Helander. Throughout his career as a designer of demanding restoration projects and bold urban plans and as an inspiring professor, Helander has actively contributed to the architectural discourse on topical matters related to building preservation.
Professor emeritus, architect Vilhelm Helander (b. 1941) graduated from Helsinki University of Technology in 1967 with a degree in architecture and in 1972 with an additional licentiate degree. From 1985 to 2004, he served as Professor of Architecture History at Helsinki University of Technology (now Aalto University). He founded his own architectural office with Juha Leiviskä in 1978. As an Art Academician, Helander follows in the footsteps of Leiviskä, who passed away last November.
Helander has specialised in building conservation and conversions. He has planned demanding renovations in which the focus has been on respecting and preserving the architectural values of different eras. The most well-known of these projects include the Old Students’ House in Helsinki, the landscape restoration plan for the Suomenlinna sea fortress, and the town halls in Pori and Porvoo, as well as projects for the Finnish National Museum, Helsinki Cathedral and the House of Sciences and Letters. The renovation of the House of the Estates, for which Helander served as the chief designer of the restoration work, received the Europa Nostra award in 1992.
Helander is recognised for his significant merits as a developer of the Nordic building conservation theory and has written several works on urban construction and renovation construction. Already in the 1970s, Helander and architect Mikael Sundman became known with their polemical work Kenen Helsinki? (“Whose Helsinki?”), which was awarded the Eino Leino Prize. Helander and photographer Simo Rista’s book Suomalainen rakennustaide – Modern Architecture in Finland is one of the most significant works of Finnish architecture in the 20th century.
Helander is a recipient of the State Award for Public Information and the State Award for Building and Community Planning, and he is a member of the Academia Europaea. Helander is the first Finn to receive the European Gold Medal for the Preservation of Historical Monuments. In addition, he has been awarded the Pro Finlandia Medal and the Engel Prize for Church Art.
Helander continues to be active in restoration projects and topical debates related to the preservation of buildings.
"Half of my career has been devoted to teaching the history of architecture and writing about the architectural heritage, and the other half to designing the built environment, its management and restoration," says Vilhelm Helander.
"The title of Academician means a lot to me personally. At the same time, I see it as a recognition of the value of the work done for the built heritage in general and of the fact that planning for the restoration and renovation of buildings is a full-fledged part of the field of architecture. If Finland used to be the promised land of new construction, now at least half of construction involves the maintenance, repair and restoration of old environments."
The President of the Republic of Finland awards the title of Art Academician to highly distinguished artists based on a proposal by the Central Arts Council. The title is life-long. On Friday 8 November, the title was also given to master folk singer, musician Hilja Grönfors. There can be up to eleven Art Academicians at the same time. Read more here.
