Helsinki's classic cityscape is changing – what about Engel and Ehrenström's cultural heritage?
Helsinki Adult Education Centre and Helsinki Society are organizing a lecture series, which is free to attend.
Time and place
November 5–19, 2025, Wednesdays 5:00–6:30 PM
Helsinki Adult Education Centre Ballroom, Runeberginkatu 22–24, 00100 Helsinki
Lectures
5.11. from 17.00:18.30 to XNUMX:XNUMX: The Printing House at the Government Palace – do values and prestige meet?
(architect Marianne Lehtimäki), Chairman of the Finnish Section of ICOMOS)
The protection of the Government Palace changed to protection under the Building Heritage Act in 2021–2022, when the Printing House building, which is significant in terms of cultural and architectural history and is located in the middle of the block, was excluded from the protection decision. The Supreme Administrative Court decided to block the appeal against this decision to protect the Printing House on 28 October 2025. The lecture analyses the demolition project led by the Prime Minister's Office and Senate Properties and the actions taken to oppose it. Why did the authority of the actors and the cultural and historical values of the site not coincide?
12.11. from 17.00:18.30 to XNUMX:XNUMX: Lapinlahti Mental Hospital – meanings and values
(architect Mikko Lindqvist, Helsinki City Museum Cultural Environment Team)
Mikko Lindqvist talks about the construction history of the Lapinlahti Mental Hospital designed by Carl Ludvig Engel and the influence of beliefs and information related to mental illness on the design of the hospital in the early 1800th century. The hospital building is one of Engel's main works, its preservation is high, and it is an early representative of its building type internationally. In planning the renovations and uses of the Lapinlahti Hospital, knowledge of the original meanings and values of the site is an important starting point.
19.11. from 17.00:18.30 to XNUMX:XNUMX: Helsinki's historical identity – a wasted shared resource?
(architect, academician of arts Mona Schalin)
Helsinki acquired its characteristics that have survived to our time in the first half of the 1800th century, when the new city centre of the new capital was planned and built in a unified manner, based on the principles of architecture and urban planning from the Empire era. Now the city wants growth and property owners want income – will the legacy of Engel and Ehrenström crumble and return? In 2025, the President of the Republic Alexander Stubb awarded the title of Academician of the Arts to architect Mona Schalin. The architect, who was awarded the Finlandia Prize for Architecture (2019) for the renovation of the Snake House, has had the common thread in her work of repairing and restoring modern architecture.
More information
You do not need to register for the lecture series.
The language of the lectures is Finnish. Read more about the lectures On the Helsinki Society website.
Helsinki Society publications will be on sale at affordable prices during the lectures.
Discover at the same time Leo Mechelin -exhibition, which will be on display in the college's basement lobby until mid-November.
Helsinki Society disseminates knowledge about Helsinki and fosters Helsinki's urban culture mainly through visits, lectures and discussions, and publications. Founded in 1934, the society's interests include the city's past as well as current and future development issues.
Helsingin aikuisopisto is one of the largest private community colleges in Finland and a center for learning and well-being open to everyone. Founded in 1961, the college is a community college under the Liberal Educational Work Act, offering over 1,000 courses annually.
