Mass tourism has impoverished the architecture of Lapland and changed familiar landscapes
25.04.2014
The increase in tourism to the region has had a significant impact on traditional Lapland travel destinations, landscapes, and the environment.
In his doctoral dissertation defended at Aalto University's Department of Architecture, Harri Hautajärvi, Lic.Sc.(Tech.), describes the ways in which tourism and architecture impacted on each other in Lapland from the 19th Century onwards.
Hautajärvi's research shows how construction work in Lapland changed from the 1960s as a result of mass tourism: buildings that were architecturally conceived and finalised, with attention also paid to their interior design, were replaced by aesthetically standardised holiday cottages.
‘Right up to the 1960s, tourism in Lapland was promoted precisely on the basis of the landscapes and high quality architecture and interior design,’ Hautajärvi observes in relation to the shift in artistic eras.
In the 19th century, the impact of international, national and local tourism could already be observed in the architecture of Lapland. The Aavasaksa pavilion built in the old Norse style in Ylitornio, Lapland, was followed by the typical inns and classic holiday cottages, whereas the log holiday cabins and youth hostels of the 1950s and '60s evoke Finnish peasant culture and a flavour of national romance. For their part, the sumptuous décor of the Pohjanhovi, Pallastunturi and Petsamo hotels of the 1930s reflects the international functionalism of the time. Famous Finnish architects and interior designers were behind some of Lapland's tourism buildings.
Owing to the surge in popularity of skiing from the 1960s onwards, the familiar Lapland attractions became tourist centres or even holiday towns. Indeed, cheap and fast building methods, standardisation, and the use of industrial materials all became much more common.
‘Rather than the state and community-minded actors, private tourism operators who lacked the necessary know-how started to take over the building of such sites. This led to construction of many poorly designed and visually uninteresting buildings, which were also out of keeping with their surroundings,’ remarks Hautajärvi.
State and EU funds were directed at a lot of these kinds of projects. According to Hautajärvi, there has not been enough input and guidance from the regional authorities regarding the quality of building works and land use.
With more regulated and professional design work, however, Hautajärvi believes that all is not lost. The mistakes of past decades can be corrected.
‘Lapland can still retain its mass tourist appeal, but with everything a bit more carefully planned than before. The current holiday towns and villages should be streamlined, but this requires particular professional skills and, for example, the organisation of architectural tenders and design competitions.’
Lapland has a lot to offer: unspoilt nature, forests, wilderness areas, glacial mountains, bodies of water, and tranquillity. According to Hautajärvi, these things should all be preserved with high quality and faithful building and landscape architecture, as well as better interior and general design.
‘In this way, we'd get durable and appealing tourism destinations, with as carefully designed architecture and interiors as in the best examples found in the history of Lapland's tourism architecture,’ Hautajärvi concludes.
Hautajärvi's research is grounded in broad-based archive studies and in-situ observations. The dissertation also handily includes 240 photographs representing the history of and changes undergone in Lapland architecture. Many of the images are being published for the first time.
Orders for the dissertation can be placed with the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture’s online bookshop: artsbooks [at] aalto [dot] fi [dot] (artsbooks@aalto.fi).
Further information, an e-copy of the dissertation, and image requests:
Harri Hautajärvi
hautajarvi(at)nic.fi
tel. +358 45 2331 310