RB_RestorationoftheViipuriLibrary

PR64001
History and Theory
of Preservation
Prof. Nadya Nenadich
Rodrigo Balarezo
Research topic:
Restoration of the Central City Alvar Aalto Library in Vyborg
“Intuition can sometimes be astonishingly rational”
-Alvar Aalto
The city of Vyborg, located in what is
now North-Eastern Russia, has
witnessed numerous wars during its
seven century history. The town was
evidently transformed by WWII in its
build environment, and “all cultural
continuity between the pre-WWII and
post WWII era was broken”. Today,
Swedish, Finnish and Russian cultural
heritage is utilized to help the citizens
look for identity in their post-communist
settings.
The most visible landmark of the town, the central tower of a castle, was built in 1293 as
crusaders lead by Tyrgils Knutsson (Swe,. Torkkel Knuutinpoika in Finnish) claimed the area for

the Western’s Church sphere as well as for the Swedish
Kings who would rule over the territory for the next 400
years. Knutsson served as regent for the underage Birger
Magnusson, but He was decapitated in February 1306
after the king’s brothers have successfully seeded distrust
on the king against his marshal Knutsson. On an event
known to history as the Third Swedish Crusade, Knutsson
fought the Novgorod Republic, Russian medieval republic,
which had attacked the town of Tavastland. Hence, the
castle at Vyborg was conceived as a fortress, and the
town developed sporadically on the adjacent
archipielago. The town received its charter in 1403, and
the building of a stone wall surrounding the town began
in 1470’s. Later fortifications were done in 1547-1550,
and the largest effort was done in 1563 when the wall
was extended to the south-east along with the ramparts
that gave the area its name: Valli (Finish) The rectangular street grid that remains to this day
was mostly established in the 1600’s when the Swedish Kingdom replaced the Old Town street
grid that followed the curvature of the land. In 1710, Peter the Great conquered the town and it
was claimed for the Russian Empire as a fortress town to protect the capital, St. Petersburg. A
russian wave of rebuilding and public works followed a fire in 1793. In 1809, the Tsar Alexander
I conquered territory farther into the east of the Swedish Kingdom, and he established the

Grand Duchy of Finland to which Vyborg was joined in
1812. At this time, the town was still a fortress town
composed by: the castle, the main fortress (surrounding
the main city), and St. Anna’s Crown.After the Crimean
War (1854-1856), Russia handed over the fortifications
around the main city to the civilian authorities who
decided to implement urban changes such as filling in
the moats, demolishing fortifications, and buildinging
new streets. A new street grid was drawn by surveyor
Berndt Otto Nymalm, and it was ratified in 1861. Two
new districts followed, Salakkalahti to the north-east of
the main town, and Pantsarlahti to the south-east. The
existing suburb of St. Petersburg became two districts:
Repola and Kaleva. In 1869, street signs were set, and a
need to name streets arouse which constitutes evidence
to the political changes in Vyborg as these street signs have taken both Finnish and Russian
names at different times in history. Infrastructure works such as the completion of the Saimaa
Canal in 1856, the Helsinki-St.Petersburg in 1870, and the Karelia-Vyborg expressway in 1894
allowed the city of Vyborg to grow to host about 50,000 inhabitants by 1910. However, periods
of finish oppression followed from 1899-1905 and 1909-1917 until the Grand Duchy of Finland
seceded from Russia after the October Revolution of 1917. The new state enter civil war in
1918 between the “white” bourgeois representing the legal government, and the “red” guards

hoping to create a socialist republic. The town of Vyborg was conquered by the white army in
April 1918 with reds fleeting to St. Petersburg. At this time Vyborg was considered a bastion of
western culture at the fringe of communist Russia. In 1923, Maria Lalukka, the widow of Juho
Lalukka, donated funds for the construction of a municipal library, and an architectural
competition was established in 1927. Alvar Aalto won the competition, with a classicist scheme,
as it was announced in February 1928. However, a list of considerations were given to the
architect which spurred the development of numerous schemes until 1929. In 1929, the first
cycle of street name changes occurred as some of the street names were changed from Russian
to Finish in order to represent the new cultural values and in order to forget old Russian
oppression. Coincidentally, the recession at this time caused the project to be delayed until
October 1933 when the location of the library changed, and Aalto was required to submit new
and final drawings which lead to the library’s completion in 1935.
According to some of Aalto’s description of the project the form and design resulted from the
change in the library’s location which allowed him to “freed the design from the constraints of
external formality”. The three main elements were: the library itself with its various
departments which form the main massing with interdependent relationships focused on
serving the human eye; the socially active part of library such as clubrooms, smaller spaces and
offices “open to the exterior, and light in construction” focused on the human ear, and the
internal circulation network which becomes the “medium combining the above psychological
conditions”. The entrance to the kid’s library was at a lower level whereas the main entrance

was at the intersection of a group of meandering paths, and the newsroom was accessible
directly from the street.
He describes the roof to be made of a reinforced
concrete slab with special beam forms of only
one span at 17.6 meters. In fact, the original
proposal by Aalto conceived of a glass roof over
the main lending hall, and he let it go during the
design process only to return in the final scheme
as the 57 circular openings of 1,80 meter diameter.
He describes that the depth of the cones was such
that a “52 degree sunbeam cannot pierce it freely”
in order to allow “optically hygienic overall lighting”
so that reading could be done without producing a
shadow. Circular coarse glass sheets were placed
on the concrete conicals and they relied on their own weight. On the solid parts a
panel-heating-system was placed by means of radiant heating pipes in order to provide heat to
the main hall. Artificial lighting had also been placed in the solid parts by means of recesses and
directed towards the adjacent walls to produce indirect lighting. The elevated location of the
lending department and leading rooms that form a single hall was provided by setting them in
multiple levels. The 75 cm thick brick external walls included the ventilation ducts and allowed
for no partitions.

The clubroom and office wing had a steel frame construction, and the floors were massive
concrete slabs where the floor finished was fixed directly on the slab with sound insulation
provided by the heaviness of the slab and soft fibre boards insulite. The roofs were insulated
with a fabric which had a lead membrane between two bitumen layers, and it didn’t have filling
as in the hall. Roof outlets for rainwater drainage and flashings were made of copper. Since the
human ear was the main concern, the lecture hall’s undulating lamellas were used so that
sound could be emitted and received at any location in the hall, and not just at one location as
it’s the case in a concert hall. The windows were steel frame covered with teak on the inside.
Different woods had been placed in different locations depending on the possibility of wear:
karelian red pine in the clubrooms, sycamore in the entrance hall, oak, birch in the children’s
library and teak in the furniture, red beech and karelian pine (most durable) in the actual
library. The central heating was made of the “panel-heating”system which produced radiant
heat to warm up the concrete and plaster surfaces by a “dense network of pipes” thus
providing no conflict between shelves and the heating system. Additionally, the central
ventilation system was produced by fresh air distributed by ventilations pipes thought the
different parts of the building. the distributing branches of these were glazed fire clay or cast
iron. Textiles also played an important role in the buildings as curtains, door and wall coverings,
and elements separating different spaces. The natural lime painted surface remain in order to
make reference to natural materials. Thus, the main color scheme is made in reference to
materials. In 1938, the Museum of Modern art displayed drawings for the Viipuri (Vyborg)

Library, the Turum Sanomat Building, and the Paimio Sanatorium in its first exhibition of an
International Style Architect consolidating Alvar Aalto’s international fame.
By the WWII, Vyborg was
the second largest city in
Finland with around 75,000
to 80,000 inhabitants.
However, in November
1939, Russia attacked
Finland at the beginning of
what became known as the
Winter War, and bombing raids began over Vyburg whose population was forced to escape. At
the end of the hostilities, Finland was forced to hand over part of its eastern territory along
with Vyborg to Russia. Hence, the second cycle of changes occurred to street names, this time
turning Finish street signs to Russian. After the Continuation War in 1941, the finish recaptured
Vyborg. and They started a resettlement program that brought its population back to 30,000 in
three years along with new street name changes. However, the finns were again forced to
evacuate after a massive Red Army attack in 1944. At this time, Finland and Russia signed a
peace treaty which conceded Vyborg to Russia, and the town which was once considered a
bastion of western civilization officially became a Soviet border town which continues to be
until the present day. The library, which was not greatly damaged by the wars, was left empty
and unattended for the following 10 years as the new Russian inhabitants labored to rebuild
this then ghost town.

In 1955, the first of a series of restorations to the
library began. Aleksandr Mihailovich Shver lead the
first Russian restoration, but the government denied
his request, due to the political climate, for Finish
original drawings and other Finish bought elements
such as the circular glass panels for the oculi, and
the air-conditioning equipment. The flat roof pitch
was altered by inclining the concrete pouring by two
brick rows, and the windows of the main lecture hall
were reduced about 8 in in high because glass
wasn’t manufactured at that dimension in the Soviet
Union at this time. However, the lecture hall was not
altered to host a movie theater as proposed, the curved paneling of the ceiling was restored
using spruce timber, old pictures and paint marks on the wall, and the library continued to
operate as such.
Then, around 1970s concerns were raised about the condition of the library and appeals were
sent to the the Russian Government. In May 1989, after these appeals were not answered, a
group of twenty leading architects and professors sent a letter to the then president of Finland,
Mauno Koivisto, in an effort to preserve the library. However, the political environment at the
time didn’t allow for any effective change, until March 1991 when the Finnish Ministry of the

Environment, chaired by Mikko Mansikka,
organized a seminar in Helsinki titled
“Renovation of the Library of Vyborg.” Sergey
Kravchenko, russian architect who had
documented the library, presented his findings
on the poor condition of it, and the opportunity
to restore it. In the summer of 1991 an
international campaign was launched by the
Alvar Aalto Club (an unofficial organization of
architects who had been employed by Aalto’s
office) in order to produce an appeal and to
bring international support to the restoration of the library and awareness of Aalto’s
architecture. In January 1992, Aalto’s widow Elissa Aalto, the Finnish Ministry of the
Environment, and Finland’s Consulate General in St. Petersburg visited the library for the first
time and handed the mayor, Nikolai Smirnov, the above mentioned appeal with over 1000
signatures from around the world.
This spurred a series of bilateral agreements between Russia and Finland in order to provide
the administrative and financial backbone for the restoration of the library. For instance, the
Protocol of Intentions on Joint Activity in the Restoration of the Alvar Aalto Library was signed
in July 25th, 1991, and the Supplementary Protocol of Intentions for the Restoration of the
Municipal Library Alvar Aalto in Vyborg was signed in March 24, 1992. Furthermore, in May 21,

1993, the St. Petersburg Union of Architects, the St. Petersburg Cultural Foundation, the Finnish
Committee for the Restoration of Viipuri Library (Founded by Elissa Aalto, the Alvar Aalto & Co.
Architectural Office, and The Finnish Ministry of the Environment), and the Finnish Association
of Architects signed an agreement on the use of Donations and other contributions to the joint
Russian-Finnish Restoration Project. For the management of the project, three different
managers were employed mirroring the three different channels of funding. First, the Cultural
Commision of the Leningrad Oblast, which is part of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian
Federation, has a Department of Architectural Monuments which receives drawings and
specifications from the Finnish Committee for the Restoration of the Viipuri Library, in charge of
architectural design and restoration, choses a contractor from a call for tenders, inspects and
manages its projects. Second, The city of Vyborg funds and manages its own projects along with
consultation with the the Finnish Committee for the Restoration of the Viipuri Library and the
director of the library. Again drawings and specifications are provided by the committee, and
the contractor is chosen by the city out of a list of tenders. Third, works financed by the the
Finnish Committee for the Restoration of the Viipuri Library, which are financed by Finland and
contributions abroad, are managed by the library. The committee delivers drawings and
specifications, and the library chooses a contractor from a call for tenders.
International organizations, exhibitions, conventions, and academic studies were organized
over the decades in order to raise awareness of Aalto’s architecture as well as to raise funds for
the restoration of the library in Vyborg. For instance, the Friends of Viipuri established in 1995
an International Honorary Committee with close to 100 members from 22 countries, the Aktion

Viipuri in Switzerland provided fundraising as well as Alvar Aalto Gesellschaft in Austria,
Germany and Switzerland, Comitato Italiano Aalto/Viipuri in Italy, Alvar Aalto Sallskapet in
Sweden, and the Charitable Trust of the Friends of the Viipuri Library in the UK. International
conferences included: one at the Milan Triennale in November 1996 organized by the Comitato
Italiano Aalto/Viipuri, “The Viipuri Library - Saving a Modern Masterpiece” organized by Friends
of the Viipuri LIbrary, the Finnish Committee for the restoration of Viipuri library, and MOMA,
and “Lit by Aalto Skylights” in March 2003 organized by the Finnish Committee. A touring
exhibition of the library in its original form was presented in the summer of 1994 during the
Alvar Aalto Symposium in Jyväskylä, Finland and it toured the world for 14 years until its final
exhibition in Jyväskylä in October 2008 during the Finnish-Russian Cultural Forum. Other
donations came from the Omega Foundation in Switzerland, and the Getty Foundation in the
United States which allowed for a studio course on preservation headed by the Helsinki
university of Technology and and training program dealing with management, site practices,
quality demands, contractor’s responsibility and working methods for the Russian partners.
Scientific studies were also made by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, and
the Netherlands Department of Conservation in Zeist whose paint studies, headed by architect
Mariel Polman, were very instrumental to the restoration.
The restoration as presented by the committee had a total budget of 6.5 million Euros. One
common principle of the restoration process was to start a project only when there were
enough funds to bring it to completion. Additionally, decisions were made to retain the
alterations done on the 1956-1961 restoration as a historical layer, and to consider the modern

requirements of the library operations such as technology, security, energy savings, etc.
Restoring modern buildings some of the challenges that are found are: that many of the details
created in the modern movement are extremely vulnerable due to movement’s concern for
minimal use of materials and for functionality, buildings are presently in use and this may cause
conflicts again due to the functionalist focus of their conception, original drawings may differ
from actual construction due to architects’ on-site final detail changes i.e. Alvar Aalto used to
sketch final details on a PAP tobacco box.
The restoration was divided in multiple subprojects in order to facilitate the continuing
operation of the library. These were:
1. The glass facade of the main stair hall,
1994-1996. Which included conservation the
original steel frame and brass hinges of the original
glass facade, and replacing the steel windows,
corroded iron fittings, and rotten wooden lists from
the Soviet restoration. Screw joints were
completely replaced by welding as started by the
Soviet Restoration. The metal parts were given rust
protection and the wooden parts were protected
with linseed oil.

2. The library caretaker’s apartment 1997-2000. Provided the opportunity to test the
interior materials and details to be used in the rest of the library. All surface materials
were removed to the bare structure. The walls and ceilings were plastered with lime and
painted with Sax Tempera, the floor was leveled and covered with parquet and
linoleum, and the new doors were rebuilt according to original specifications.
3. The roofs, 1996, 1999-2001, 2001-2003. The
later added bitumen and insulated layers above the
original concrete roof were removed. Cement screed
K20 was wood-floated to a minimum of 1:100 to
improve the roof slope. The contractor installed new
bitumen waterproofing to the edges of the eaves, and
by the vertical structures up to 2 in. Above it, new
thermal insulation (extruded and half
tongued-and-grooved 2 in. polystyrene with 32 kg/m3
density) was installed. Filter Cloth Class 1 was installed
on top, and a new reinforced (#5-150, B 500 K)
frost-resistant (K45-1) concrete slab was cast on top.
20x20 mm pine battens were installed to form the slab
joints. The rainwater pipes were cleaned and and new
stainless steel pipes were installed. The original height

of the parapets were established and copper copings were installed.
4. The skylights, 2001-2003. In order to replace the
plastic domes added in 1990, modern 8+8 mm
laminated round-sawed edge-ground glass was installed
as the finishing glass in lieu of the original roughcast,
and an additional sheet of 4+4 mm round-sawed
laminated glass was installed in the interior of the
drums. Waterproof plywood ground rings were added
on top of the concrete drums waterproofing to adjust
for height. Vertical wood studding and expanded wood
insulation were also added. Skylights flashing is made of
0.9 mm copper sheathing.
5. The entrance doors, 2001, 2002-2005. all of the doors add larger profile sections added
during the first Russian restoration except for the doors to the periodicals rooms. These
were cleaned, rust was removed, and the lower parts of the frames had to be renewed.
Handles were reconstructed according to drawings and photographs, and the locks were
modernized.
6. The exterior stairs of the lending hall terrace, 2001. The stairs have been conceived as
cantilever beams, but the concrete has deteriorated and the reinforcing bars rusted.

Thus, the carbonated concrete was removed, the bars were cleaned, sandblasted, and
corrosion protected, new reinforcing rods were added, and new concrete was cast.
7. The children’s library entrance, 2004-2005. The exterior walls were rendered with lime
plaster and then white-washed. The plinth was restored, the entrance flagstones were
leveled, and the surrounding ground was lowered to the original height. The interior
repairs involved: the complete restoration of the toilets, the restoration and
conservation of the 1935 steel windows, and the completed preservation of the
entrance doors. The lockers which have been restored in the 1960s were cleaned and
preserved.
8. The iron/steel windows, 2001-2008. After the windows at the keeper’s quarters, the
lecture hall windows where next to be repaired. The wall below the window was lower
to its original height, the corner detail of the window was reconstructed, the lower
rusted parts of the iron window frame were renewed, the window frame was increased
by 20 cm to become 317 cm, and the ventilation grills were reconstructed. The rest of
the window frames in the building were sandblasted, and the broken parts renewed. 4
+4 mm laminated glass windows were inserted in the restored frames and Tremco
Multifog as the base putty was used between the frame and the glass, and Tremco
Mono 321 (white) for the exterior putty. Glazing beads were made of oak with a teak
stain and then oiled with linseed oil.

9. The periodicals reading room, 2004-2005. At this room all of the surfaces were
renovated. The electrical and lighting methods and conduits followed the original routes
and designs, and they were replicated as much as possible. The walls were painted with
Tikkurila White semi-gloss alkyd paint. One of the doors that was removed during the
Russian restoration was replaced, its details and specifications were replicated, and
handles were chrome coated. The floors were covered with 2,5 mm marble-figured
Norament Vario Rubber Carpet.
10. The lecture hall 2006-2009. All 1960 restorations
were removed and done anew including: the entrance
wall, the wooden ceiling, and the worn-out parquet
flooring. Visible reinforced bars were brushed clean
and a two layers of an anti-corrosive cement coating
was applied. The lower part of the entrance doors were
rebuilt and new ventilation ducts were placed behind
following the original design, and they were rendered
with lime plaster to the height of the lower level of the
bay window. The upper part of the wall is made of 50 x
100 mm frame screwed to the frame and covered by 12
mm veneer boarding. The brick walls were plastered
with three layers of lime plaster (ventilation ducts were
inlaid inside the walls according to original

specifications), beams were plastered with three layers of lime-cement plaster. All walls
were given a lime wash finish. Steel pillars were brushed clean, given corrosion
protection, covered with steel nettings, given three layers of lime cement plaster, and
then finished with natural oil paint. All floor layers were removed down to the original
slab which was vacuum cleaned, and moist for two days to assure adherence to the new
concrete layer which consisted of 1 part cement, 2 parts fine gravel from 3-6mm, and 1
part screened sand, and which was cured carefully, vibrated, and wood floated. Fescon
Coarse Floor leveling compound was sued for uneven areas less than 40mm and final
levelling was done with concrete pour finish. The final material of the floor was new oak
parquet according to original specifications. Simultaneously, the side corridor was
restored, and all surfaces were treated similarly except for the floor which was covered
with gray rubber carpeting.
11. The undulating wooden ceiling 1998, 2007-2008.
Numerous acoustic studies were done on the undulating
ceiling particularly by the dutch engineer Bo Martinsen
from the School of Architecture at the Royal Danish
Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. The original panels
were made by carpenters working on site who
specialized on boat construction. Unfortunately, it was
destroyed after the war and then rebuilt during the
Russian restoration, but the craftsmanship at the time

wasn’t the best. Hence, the roof was completely redone during the latest restoration
following models found on Aalto’s own residence. The original steel anchors were
preserved and the new wooden frames for the ceiling were hanged from them. 9
kilometers of pine strips were produced for the ceiling’s paneling which was produced
and installed by the Rudkij Project Carpenter’s workshop in St. Petersburg.
The restoration of the complete library was accomplished in 2013, and World Monuments Fund
awarded it the 2014 World Monument Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize which was given to the
Finnish Committee and the Library Administrators at MOMA in December 2014. One of the
incredibly notable aspects of these project was the cooperation among Finnish and Russian
private and public institutions and citizens ranging from mutual governmental agreements,
fund-raising, management, and actual construction. Similarly notable was the participation of
the international community which recognized the value of the library and rallied labors
towards the common goal of preserving it. Not only as a future preservationist, but as a
member of our common humanity and citizenry, I couldn’t be more thankful for the work
performed.
The times and methods available to Alvar Aalto allowed him to cover much conceptual and
technical ground. Coming from an era in which technology was supposed to provide a solution
for all nations’ physical ills, Aalto was still able to reconcile the technical abilities of his time
with a delicacy as much as complexity both in monumental gestures as well as architectural
details. At the Viipuri LIbrary, He talked about about “optically hygienic and lighting

psychological solutions as well as heating and
ventilations systems”, which is demonstrated by
his previous work on the Paimio Hospital, but this
work doesn’t show an overpowering of the
technical over the natural environment. His works
show a balance and cooperation between the two.
Technology is exalted for its own good, but it
doesn’t impose itself or subdues the fact of its
natural setting. The awareness of this delicate
interaction is perceived and well executed in his
buildings from their setting in the landscape to the
execution of details. The building environment as
well as the global citizenry own Aalto gratitude for
such executions, and the restoration of the, now
called, Central City Alvar Aalto Library is a great
reminder of his work and how much we can learn
from it. Studying his work, one can conceive why
the use of paper for any purpose other than
architecture would be “a waste of paper”.

Works Cited
Adlercreutz, Eric, Gareth Griffiths, and Kristina Köhl. Alvar Aalto Library in Vyborg: Saving a
Modern Masterpiece. Helsinki, Finland: Rakennustieto Pub, 2009. Print.
Aalto, Alvar. Kaupunginkirjasto Viipuri. Jyväskylä: Alvar Aalto-museo, 1997. Print.
Neuvonen, Petri, Tuula Poyhia, and Tapani Mustonen. Viipuri: Opas Kaupunkiin = Vyborg : Town
Guide. Helsinki (Finland: Rakennustieto Oy, 1999. Print.
Schildt, Göran. Alvar Aalto: The Decisive Years. New York: Rizzoli, 1986. Print.
Spens, Michael, and Alvar Aalto. Viipuri Library, 1927-1935: Alvar Aalto. London: Academy Editions,
1994. Print.
"Viipuri Library." Viipury Library. World Monuments Fund, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2014.
Winston, Anna. "Restoration of Alvar Aalto's Viipuri Library Wins 2014 Modernism Prize."
Dezeen Restoration of Alvar Aaltos Viipuri Library Wins 2014 Modernism Prize
Comments. Dezeen, 31 Oct. 2014. Web. 05 Dec. 2014.

RB_RestorationoftheViipuriLibrary

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to RB_RestorationoftheViipuriLibrary

RB_RestorationoftheViipuriLibrary