Hämeelinna Provincial Archive

Finland’s Heikkinen-Komonen Architects realized that the role of national and provincial archives is far more important than we believe them to be. They serve as a treasury of our collective memory, storing history for us to remember, honor, and learn from.

It is then with great regret that these edifices to history are usually anonymously tucked away in the corners of a city, away from view and visit, collecting dust more than records.

Which is why when they designed the brand new Provincial Archive for the city of Hämeelinna, the Helsinki based architects of Heikkinen-Komonen wanted it to stand like a lighthouse and a vault to the city it represents.

The graphic concrete exterior of the Hämeelinna Provincial Archive cannot be missed. Adorned with intricate details of symbols and writings, the smooth grey concrete of the façade serves as an immense Rosetta Stone to the city of Hämeelinna.

The building houses three distinct purposes and areas. An area for visitors and history buffs, offices and workshops for the staff, and most significantly, the treasury where all the documents and records are kept, recounting five centuries of history.

Placed above the transparent glass and colorful room of the open ground floor, the symbol-ridden and sleek concrete of the exterior is mimicked along the interior walls, diffused by natural light from a skylight. The ground floor area features an assortment of functional spaces like study rooms, an auditorium, library, cafeteria and an exhibition space.

It is with style then that the Hämeelinna Provincial Archive gets the overdue respect it deserves, as should all archives of history. We hope that this is the first step in a growing phenomenon of not allowing our history to sit anonymously in the midst of urban vistas, but rather stand as a guiding light to the rest of the city.

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by Henry Guyer
Photo by Jussi Tiainen
Gloobbi Architecture

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