Kemi Town Hall ( Finnish. Kemin kaupungintalo ) - the town hall of Kemi ( Finland ) is 52 meters high, at the same time it is a water tower. [one]
| Sight | |
| Kemi Town Hall | |
|---|---|
| fin. Kemin kaupungintalo | |
 | |
| A country |  Finland |
| Location | Kemi , Valtakatu 26 |
| Architect | Bertel Strömmer |
| Established | 1940 year |
History
The first town hall in Kemi was built in 1896 . Since the city library and public school were also transferred to the same building, the house was called the reading room . From 1905 to 1930, the building was used by the Finnish Porvi School in Kemi. When the joint school had its own school building, the reading room was rebuilt into a city office building. The city hall was destroyed by fire on February 13, 1931. [2]
With the growth of the city’s population, the need arose for the placement of state institutions, as well as improving the city’s water supply. The city council decided to combine these projects into one tower building. The house was designed by Bertel Strömmer, the architect of Tampere. Stremmer's plans were approved in April 1939 and led to the construction of a new town hall in its current location. The construction was completed in the summer of 1940. The building had 13 ground floors, on the four upper floors of which was a water tank with a volume of 500 m³. [3]
During the war in Lapland in 1944, German troops tried to blow up the house, but the building miraculously survived. This is due to the fact that the Germans were not aware of the emptying of the water tower, which significantly reduced the weight of the upper floors. In addition, the quality construction of the building prevented a collapse. A memorial plaque is installed on the preserved wall of the house in memory of this event. [four]
After the war, the Town Hall was renovated and a four-story extension was built on the basis of Stremmer's plans.
In the fall of 1963, a design competition was held in Kemi to expand the town hall. Aarne Ervi, Risto-Veikko, Luukkonen and Heikki Siren were invited to the competition. Erwi’s plan for the developing Kemi was chosen the best in the competition, on the basis of which Erwi finalized the plans. Construction work began in February 1965, and a final inspection of the building was carried out in February 1969. During the expansion, the old part of the building was also repaired. The old, plastered facades were covered with the same tiled concrete elements as the new one. Three 500 cubic meters of water tanks were placed in the new section, so the total volume of water tanks in the city hall is 2000 cubic meters.
Kemi roof view from the town hall
Old town hall
The lower part of the town hall after the explosion
Notes
- ↑ Kemin kaupungintalon historiaa
- ↑ Heljala, Minna; Seppälä, Sirkka-Liisa ja Elo Tiina: Meren ja teollisuuden kaupunki, s. 58. Suomen ympäristö 15/2013. Helsinki: Ympäristöministeriö, 2013. ISBN 978-952-11-4252-9 .
- ↑ Virpi Limatius: Jatuli XXI: Kemin kaupungintalon historiaa, s. 31-37. Pohjolan Sanomat, 1990. ISSN 0357-3583.
- ↑ Virpi Limatius: Jatuli XXI: Kemin kaupungintalon historiaa, s. 33.37. Pohjolan Sanomat, 1990. ISSN 0357-3583.