In 1926, Bryggman won the open architectural competition for the Turku Lutheran Mission’s hospice-hotel with his entry that was named with a drawn motto of an angel in a circle. The style of Bryggman’s proposal clearly represented Italian-inspired classicism. The general layout of the hotel was implemented in accordance with the competition entry.

The hotel was planned to form a totality with the neighbouring Atrium apartment building. A small piazza with two consecutive flights of stairs was created between the two buildings. The hotel entrance was placed there, visible from Yliopistonkatu street but leaving the actual street front available for commercial premises. The stepped piazza also leads to the Betel Church built in 1906, for which Bryggman designed a slender and gracious campanile forming an ending to Kristiinankatu street.

Bryggman’s trip to Germany in 1928 had a strong influence on the design of the building. The main façades were still designed according to classical principles but all decorations were cleared off and the arched shop windows were changed to rectangular ones. The yard façade was designed in a style closer to functionalism and had a more relaxed layout. Small box-like balconies were added to the side facing the piazza, and the signage of the commercial premises was implemented in the spirit of functionalist typography.

Text: Mikko Laaksonen
Source: Arkkitehti 2/1927, 12/1930; Helena Soiri-Snellman: Asunto Oy Atrium, 2010