Chord af Segerstad, Karl

Born in the family of the Swedish businessman Adam Hord af Segerstad, who moved to the Grand Duchy of Finland in the early 1870s. When his father’s business went bankrupt, Karl Hord af Segerstad worked for some time on a ship in the Baltic Sea.

In 1891 he entered, and in 1895 he graduated from the architectural department of the Polytechnic School in Helsingfors . In his student years, he practiced at various architectural bureaus, and in 1896 he received Finnish citizenship and opened an architectural bureau (for two years he worked with classmate Bertel Jung , and then, independently, until 1901). He improved his architectural skills as a scholarship holder in trips to the Netherlands, France, Germany, Austria, and Italy. A long stay in cities such as Munich and Nuremberg , in the heyday of Art Nouveau, had a great influence on the work of the architect, focusing on the Swedish and German representatives of Art Nouveau. One of the first to use soapstone in the decoration of building facades in Finland.

In 1901, having received an order from the entrepreneur V. Gowing for the construction of a tenement house with a bookstore in Vyborg, he moved from Helsingfors to become an assistant architect in the Vyborg province construction office. In 1907 he returned, taking the newly established position of the city architect of Helsingfors. The salary was not large, and in addition to Khord af Segerstad, there was only one candidate for this position. Being a supporter of Scandinavism and a member of the Swedish People's Party , he survived the events of the civil war in Finland in 1918 in Sweden. He worked as a Helsinki city architect until 1921, and from 1919 until the end of his life he held the post of secretary of the Helsinki Treasury, supported the use of durable materials (for example, tiled roofs) in the construction.

He has completed many projects for public buildings (including fire stations, schools, libraries, other institutions, markets), as well as residential buildings and enterprises in Helsinki. In Vyborg, the building of the Vyborg market , on which the main street of the city is oriented, is of great urban importance.

By nature, Khord af Segerstad was closed, never posted information about his projects in special literature, and was rarely mentioned during his lifetime, despite the large number of completed projects in the capital. In the obituary of 1931, Bertel Jung spoke of him as a professional, whose dedicated work for the benefit of Helsinki was not properly appreciated.

Father - Swedish entrepreneur Adam Hord af Segerstad (1822–1897), mother - Anna Güllenberg (1846–1939), representatives of noble Swedish families. Since 1898 he was married to Maria Landtman, had three children.

He was fond of sailing, was a member of the Newland Yacht Club.

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  The building of the Falken company (Helsinki, 1898)

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  Building of the Newland Student Society (Helsinki, 1898)

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  Pedestal of the monument to Torgils Knutsson (Vyborg, 1908)

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  Library (Helsinki, 1909)

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  Hakaniemi Market (Helsinki, 1912)

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  School, the last project of the architect (Helsinki, 1925)

• Neuvonen P., Peyuhya T., Mustonen T. Vyborg. Architectural guide / Per. L. Kudryavtseva. - 2nd ed. - Vyborg: “CH”, 2008. - 160 p. - ISBN 5-900096-06-8 .
• Kepp E.E. Vyborg. Art Attractions / Ed. O.V. Cossacks. - Vyborg: “Fantact”, 1992. - 200 p.
• Musin M., Rupasov A. Viipuri (Vyborg). 1940 year. - Vyborg: “Vyborg Printing House”, 2009. - 206 p.