World Monuments Fund will award its "2014 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize" to the "Finnish Committee for the Restoration of Viipuri Library" with the Central City Alvar Aalto Library, Vyborg, the Russian Federation.
“Designed by Aalto and constructed between 1927 and 1935 in what was then the Finnish city of Viipuri, the library reflects the emergence of Aalto’s distinctive combination of organic form and materials with the principles of clear functionalist expression that was to become the hallmark of his architecture.” Stated WMF in a press release.
The biennial award will be presented at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City on December 1, 2014.
Ms. Burnham stated: “Viipuri Library is an iconic modern structure and we are delighted to witness its successful restoration through an international network of funders and professionals. It speaks to the fundamental mission of WMF, which was founded on the belief that international cooperation can play a catalytic role in saving important historic sites around the globe. Viipuri Library was listed on the World Monuments Watch in 2000 and 2002 and WMF made a grant of $300,000 from its Robert W. Wils on Challenge to Conserve Our Heritage to restore the 58 signature skylights over the reading room and lending library.”
History
In 1927, Alvar Aalto entered and won an architectural competition for a municipal library in what was, at the time, the Finnish city of Viipuri. Aalto’s winning design was modified multiple times before completion in 1935. In its final form, the library reflected a functionalist design with a personalized modern vocabulary evident in and informed by other projects undertaken by the architect during the pre-war period. Collectively, those works brought international recognition to Aalto and helped lead to the Museum of Modern Art featuring the architecture, furniture, and designs of Aalto in the museum’s first exhibition on the work of an International Style architect in 1938. Viipuri Library was included as a significant indicator of the evolution of the architect’s style.
Despite early and widespread acclaim for the library, its history reveals a near-tragic struggle to survive challenges including war, shifting borders, and abandonment. First in 1940 and permanently in 1944, Viipuri and all other cities located in the Finnish region of Karelia were ceded to the Soviet Union and all property fell under Soviet control. Viipuri, which became Vyborg, was heavily bombed during WWII; the library sustained damage but remained intact. However, close to a decade of abandonment following the war left many of the building's elements, including surfaces, fittings, and furniture, beyond repair. The 1950s ushered in a series of largely inappropriate repairs and attempts at restoration, often carried out with a lack of understanding of Aalto’s techniques and materials.
The Restoration.
The restoration of the library, officially completed in 2013, reflects over two decades of international efforts, particularly cooperation between Finnish and Russian parties. The 1970s and 80s saw an increase in Finnish national concern for the library, yet it was not until the dissolution of the Soviet Union that a clear picture of the library’s conditions emerged. In 1992, the Finnish Committee for the Restoration of Viipuri Library was established and began what would evolve into a 21-year project. Limited and intermittent funding resulted in the restoration occurring in phases, planned and carried out in order of urgency. The restoration principle of the project was to preserve the original architectural values of the building while taking into account the continuing operational needs of the library. Viipuri Library was listed on the World Monuments Watch in 2000 and 2002 and WMF made a grant of $300,000 from its Robert W. Wilson Challenge to Conserve Our Heritage to restore the 58 signature skylights over the reading room and lending library. Certain features from the Soviet-era renovations were retained and restored as historical layers on the site.
In addition to Mr. Bergdoll, the jury included Jean - Louis Cohen, Sheldon H. Solow Professor in the History of Architecture at New York University; Kenneth Frampton, Ware Professor of Architecture at Columbia University; Dietrich Neumann, Royce Family Professor for the History of Modern Architecture and Urban Studies at Brown University; Susan Macdonald, Head of Field Projects at the Getty Conservation Institute; Theo Prudon, president of DOCOMOMO/US , architect at Prudon & Partners LL P , and adjunct associate professor of historic preservation at Columbia University; and Karen Stein, an architectural advisor, member of the faculty of the design criticism program at the School of Visual Arts, and executive director of the George Nelson Foundation.
