Showing posts with label Helsinki. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Helsinki. Show all posts
Aug 12, 2012
Gaia, Musiikkitalo, Helsinki
Mother Earth in the Music Centre Ceiling
This sculpture by Kirsi Kaulanen (b. 1969) was named Gaia (2011) after the ancient Greek goddess of the Earth. At 14 metres in length, 10 metres in height, and 2,200 kg in weight, the sculpture in polished stainless steel is visible both inside the Helsinki Music Centre and from outside, in the direction of Mannerheimintie. Constructed from organic forms, Gaia resembles a saxophone, a horn, a landscape, or a winding shape. It is linked to nature by its flowing form and by the fact that it includes 28 of the 150 currently-endangered Finnish plant species.
The artist has described the dual nature of the work by linking it to a real-life nature experience and to an abstract idea: seeing the work from all directions is like a 360-degree panorama from the top of a mountain. At a more abstract level, the work is a study of concentric forms, familiar to us from mandalas or dripping water.
Kamppi Chapel of Silence
Kampi Chapel of Silence is located in a corner of the Narinkkatori square of Helsinki.
The Chapel is istended to be a place where people can have a moment of silence.
It offers an opportunity to calm down in the middle of perhaps the busiest area in Finland.
The Chapel was designed by architects Kimmo Lintula, Niko Sirola and Mikko Summanen of K2S Architects Ltd. The chapel is a sample of innovative wood architecture. It was granted the International Architecture Award 2010 by the Chicago Athenaeum.
The most imposing space in the Chapel is the main hall with its height of 11.5 meters. In the quiet chapel area, the busy surronding have been consciously blocked out.
The inner walls of the chapel area are lined with common alder planks cut to shape, The simple furnishing of the hall are made of massive ash tree.
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