In 1916, architect brothers Valter and Ivar Thomé won the open architectural competition for the Stockmann department store with their proposal “S. i cirkel”. In 1918, in the Finnish Civil War, both the Thomé brothers were tragically killed and the commission was given to the second prize winner Sigurd Frosterus.

The Stockmann department store is a classic example of Nordic Art Deco style. During the first phase of construction in the mid-1920s four storeys were built. Frosterus’ design was distinguished by its bold internal arrangement, which had an atrium in the centre with galleries on the upper floor looking down upon the open-plan ground floor. The building was completed and reached its final height, eight storeys above ground level, in 1930.

An open architectural competition for an extension towards Esplanade Park was held in 1983–84. The winning entry by Kristian Gullichsen, Erkki Kairamo and Timo Vormala reinterprets the rhythms of Frosterus’ brick building in a light and refined fashion. The extension was completed in 1989.

Location

Aleksanterinkatu 52, Helsinki
60.1684199, 24.9420541

Images

1930s, Stockmann Department Store
1930s, Stockmann Department Store (© Stockmann Group)
View from Mannerheimintie street
, Stockmann Department Store
View from Mannerheimintie street , Stockmann Department Store (© Kenneth Luoto / Stockmann Group)
Original atrium, Stockmann Department Store
Original atrium, Stockmann Department Store (© Kenneth Luoto / Stockmann Group)
Keskuskatu street side with the 1989 extension by Gullichsen-Kairamo-Vormala Architects
, Stockmann Department Store
Keskuskatu street side with the 1989 extension by Gullichsen-Kairamo-Vormala Architects , Stockmann Department Store (© Kenneth Luoto / Stockmann Group)
Extension by Gullichsen-Kairamo-Vormala Architects, 1989
, Stockmann Department Store
Extension by Gullichsen-Kairamo-Vormala Architects, 1989 , Stockmann Department Store (© Simo Rista / Gullichsen-Kairamo-Vormala Architects)
Atrium in the extension by Gullichsen-Kairamo-Vormala, Stockmann Department Store
Atrium in the extension by Gullichsen-Kairamo-Vormala, Stockmann Department Store (© Simo Rista / MFA)
Ground floor
, Stockmann Department Store
Ground floor , Stockmann Department Store (© MFA)
1st floor, Stockmann Department Store
1st floor, Stockmann Department Store (© MFA)
Upper floor, Stockmann Department Store
Upper floor, Stockmann Department Store (© MFA)
Stockmann Department Store
Stockmann Department Store (© MFA)
Scale model
, Stockmann Department Store
Scale model , Stockmann Department Store (© MFA)
Sigurd Frosterus, competition entry
Sigurd Frosterus, competition entry "City 1926", 2nd prize, Stockmann Department Store (© MFA)

Additional media

Ivar Thomé, Valter Thomé, competition entry
Ivar Thomé, Valter Thomé, competition entry "S ympyrässä", 1st prize (not realised), Stockmann Department Store (© MFA)
Eliel Saarinen, competition entry
Eliel Saarinen, competition entry "Merkur", 3rd prize , Stockmann Department Store (© MFA)
Harry Röneholm, competition entry
Harry Röneholm, competition entry "ST ja piirretty mieshahmo", purchase, Stockmann Department Store (© MFA)
Jarl Ekelund, competition entry
Jarl Ekelund, competition entry "Hausse", 2nd purchase, Stockmann Department Store (© MFA)
1954 extension proposal by Sigurd Frosterus, Stockmann Department Store
1954 extension proposal by Sigurd Frosterus, Stockmann Department Store (© MFA)
1954 extension proposal by Sigurd Frosterus, Stockmann Department Store
1954 extension proposal by Sigurd Frosterus, Stockmann Department Store (© MFA)
Extension proposal by Alvar Aalto, Stockmann Department Store
Extension proposal by Alvar Aalto, Stockmann Department Store (© MFA)

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