Kristian Gullichsen

Kristian Valter Alexander Gullichsen (29 September 1932, in Helsinki – 17 March 2021, in Helsinki^[1]) was a Finnish architect. The son of Harry and Maire Gullichsen, he was born into a family of industrialists, designers and artists. His siblings were the renowned Finnish philosopher Lilli Alanen and Johan Gullichsen, a professor of engineering. Kristian Gullichsen had three sons and two daughters, one of the sons was the artist Alvar Gullichsen (born 1961). Gullichsen was married twice; his second wife was architect Kirsi Gullichsen (née Parkkinen) (born 1964).

Kristian Gullichsen was a member of the board of governors of the Alvar Aalto Academy and the committee of the Alvar Aalto Symposium. From 1988 to 1993 he held the title of Finnish State Artist Professor.

Childhood

The

modernist architecture. Kristian was seven years old when his family moved into the house in August 1939. The family was close friends of the Aalto family, and Aalto was responsible for designing the company factories and communities, as part of the company ideology of enculturation. Kristian played with the Aalto children and did odd jobs in the Aalto architects' office.^[2]

Early career

Kristian Gullichsen studied architecture at

Mies van der Rohe

. Seventy of the houses were built, but few remain today because they could not withstand the Finnish climate.

Mature career

In 1969, Gullichsen founded a partnership in Helsinki with architects Erkki Kairamo and Timo Vormala, Arkkitehdit KY, which continued until Kairamo's death in 1997. The three partners presented different architectural modernist styles, Gullichsen the monumental, Kairamo the constructivist and Varmola the typological. Since Kairamo's death Gullichsen and Vormala have continued together as Gullichsen Vormala Arkkitehdit.

The work of the office reached international attention in the late 1970s and early 1980s, described by the British journal The

minimalist

aesthetic of pure modernism with the humanist touches and concern for locality, craftsmanship and materials derived from Aalto.

Works

All by Kristian Gullichsen in collaboration with Erkki Kairamo and Timo Vormala:

Kauniainen Parish Centre, Helsinki (1985)
Pieksämäki Civic Centre (1990)
Stockmann Department Store Extension, Helsinki (1986)
Olympos Housing, Myllytie 6, Kaivopuisto, Helsinki (1995)
University of Lleida Library and Science Centre, Spain (2003).
Finnish Embassy, Stockholm, Sweden (2002).
Gullichsen's own summer cottage in the archipelago, Hitis (1994)
Malmi Church (1982)
Pori Art Museum renovation (1979-1981)

Literature

Anhava, Ilona (ed.): Theory free zone. Kristian Gullichsen 80 vuotta = 80 år = 80 years. Published in Helsinki 29.9.2012 in honour of the 80th birthday of architect Kristian Gullichsen. Lönnberg, Helsinki, 2012.
Norri, Marja-Riitta & Kärkkäinen, Maija (eds.): An Architectural Present – 7 Approaches. Arkkitehtuurin Nykyhetki – 7 Näkökulmaa. Kristian Gullichsen, Erkki Kairamo, Timo Vormala, Juha Leiviskä, Kari Järvinen, Timo Airas, Pekka Helin, Tuomo Siitonen, Käpy Paavilainen, Simo Paavilainen, Mikko Heikkinen. Exhibition Catalogue. Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki 1990.
Brandolini, Sebastiano: Kristian Gullichsen, Erkki Kairamo, Timo Vormala: Architecture 1969-2000. Skira, Milan 2000.
St John Wilson, Colin: Gullichsen, Kairamo, Vormala, 1967-1990. Barcelona, 1990.
Antoniades, Anthony C.: "Evolutionary Eclectic Inclusivity: On the work of Kristian Gullichsen","A+U." Architecture and Urbanism (in English and Japanese), No. 209, Feb. 1988, pp. 106–127.

References

^ Tunnettu arkkitehti Kristian Gullichsen on kuollut. Helsingin Sanomat 19.3.2021 (in Finnish).
^ Gullichsen, Kristian: "Preface", in Juhani Pallasmaa (ed), Alvar Aalto, Villa Mairea 1938-39. Alvar Aalto Academy, Helsinki, 1998.

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