Bachelor's thesis: The Buildings of Power and Democracy in Helsinki

Image: V. von Bonin (1965). Eduskuntatalo, Mannerheimintie 30. Property of Helsinki City Museum. The image proportions have been altered. https://www.finna.fi/Record/hkm.7571EB60-D05E-413D-

Power and democracy are clearly intertwined with architecture. In almost all cultures, decision-making and authority have been articulated through buildings and the urban landscape. Power and authority can be expressed through architectural elements in a direct sense, but they may also be studied through less tangible and less obvious factors. Power is conveyed consciously and concretely through, for example, the massing of buildings, decorative elements, and their relationship to adjacent structures. It is also expressed more subtly through aspects such as urban placement, the delineation between public and inaccessible spaces, and the way spatial divisions within buildings are experienced by their users.

This bachelor’s thesis analyzes the most central state buildings of Finland. The aim is to examine how the planning philosophies underlying these buildings have changed over time. A review of existing literature is used to identify the factors that illustrate how power, authority, and democracy are materialized in architecture. This framework is then applied to an analysis of three buildings in Helsinki, in order to explain how power and authority have been expressed within them. The selected buildings are the Government Palace, the Parliament House, and the Helsinki Court House. These buildings represent three distinct stages in Finland’s state history, while simultaneously embodying the three branches of power in the nation: the executive (government and council of state), the legislative (parliament), and the judiciary (courts).

The Government Palace was constructed during the period when Finland was part of Imperial Russia, shortly after Helsinki had been designated as the capital of the Grand Duchy. The building was intended to emphasize Finland’s (limited) right to self-governance, coinciding with the early emergence of a national identity. Its Empire style reflects classical democratic values, while also carrying strong influences from Russia and neighboring states. The Parliament House, in contrast, was planned prior to independence but only realized thereafter. At that point, the need to strengthen national identity through architecture was significant, as was the desire to underline sovereignty and a powerful state authority. The Helsinki Court House differs from the other two, as it was renovated to its original form more than seventy years after the completion of the Parliament House, at a time when societal values had changed drastically since the 1930s. The building is markedly more restrained in its expression, reflecting a diminished need for the state to display its dominance and wealth in the same way as before.

The analysis concludes that Finland’s political history has profoundly shaped its buildings of power. The nation’s past as part of Russia has influenced its drive to articulate independence and sovereignty through architecture. While Finland’s governmental buildings share many characteristics with decision-making structures elsewhere in the world, they remain unique in reflecting the values of a young nation. Monumental displays of state power belong largely to the past—at least in Finland—and the Helsinki Court House exemplifies a shift in which the state seeks to present itself as closer to the people, aspiring to equality with its citizens rather than existing above them in distant palatial institutions.

Originally written in 2023.

Supervisor: Özlem Öser-Kemppainen

Advisor: Ira Verma

Please note that the full work is written in Swedish.

BachelorsThesis.

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