Selim A. Lindqvist (1867–1939) was one of the most talented architects of the Jugendstil, or Art Nouveau, period. However, he has been overshadowed by his contemporaries, possibly because his work does not include any notable public buildings. Lindqvist’s extensive list of achievements does include numerous utility buildings designed for the City of Helsinki. These include the Hietaniemi Market Hall, the Kallio fire station and electricity and gas works buildings, with the Suvilahti power plant area being the most important.

It is one of the most impressive achievements of early Finnish industrial architecture and architecturally on a par with its European contemporaries. The power plant has smooth, Viennese forms and a technologically advanced reinforced concrete structure that lends rhythm to the elevations. This placed Lindqvist’s design squarely among the most modern architecture of the time. The gasometers next to the power plant were also designed by Lindqvist.