From Cottages to Concrete: Exchanges with North America in 1960s Finnish architecture through the work of Heikki & Mirja Castrén

Abstract

The 1960s in Finland were a period of experimentation with concrete, steel, and color, that coincided with a period of rapid economic growth and urbanization. In the building industry, the role of the architect evolved to become a civil servant in a way, entrusted to alleviate shortages in housing and commercial space. Heikki Castrén and his wife Mirja were a pair of such designers, collaborating with the “prophet of Finnish brutalism,” Viljo Revell, before launching their prolific joint career. Regrettably, today they are mostly associated with the “ugliest building in Helsinki,” and offices that may be nondescript by today’s standards. However, their works serve as an underappreciated blend of cultural, technical, and social influences that speak to their time. Shaped by formative years working in Toronto, their career reflects the flow of modernist architectural ideas between North America and Finland during the mid-20th century. With little coverage in English, the projects have been lumped into wider trends of Finnish architecture and have lacked oral histories and personal narratives to better contextualize them; these include the iconic Helsinki City Center, innovative Pohjola Insurance Building, and intimate Skata cottages.