Mäntyniemi

Encyclopedia : M : MN : MNT : Mäntyniemi

Mäntyniemi (Talludden in Swedish), is one of the three official residences of the President of Finland (the others being the Presidential Palace and Kultaranta). It was completed in 1993. Three Finnish presidents have lived in Mäntyniemi. They are Mauno Koivisto, Martti Ahtisaari and the incumbent Tarja Halonen.

When president Urho Kekkonen resigned in 1981 due to a serious illness, he lived in Tamminiemi (then the official residence of the president) and continued to do so until he died in 1986. After Kekkonen fell ill the government (Finnish Council of State) decided to set aside Tamminiemi for him and to build a new residence for the president.

In 1983 the Government of Finland bought 28,000 square metres of land in the Meilahti district, located in western Helsinki. Reima and Raili Pietilä won the open architectural competition to design Mäntyniemi. Construction started in September of 1989 and was completed in 1993.

Mäntyniemi was the first official residence to be built specifically for the president of Finland. It is located by the sea and steps lead down from the main reception room to a waterfront terrace. The surrounding landscaping is done by Maj-Lis Rosenbröjer and was designed to exist in harmony with the natural vegetation.

The interior design of Mäntyniemi aimed at creating a total work of art. The textiles, furnishings, tableware and other items were designed specifically for the house. Competitions for artists were held to choose some of the individual works of art for particular settings or parts of the house. Stone (such as granite) and wood (birch) are among the commonly used materials on the inside, along with concrete.

There are three buildings on the site. The main house comprises most of the total floor space (around 2000 square meters or 22000 square feet). It is where the president's private living quarters and personal office suites, as well as the reception rooms are located. The latter can be used for meetings, receiving visitors and hosting smaller receptions. There is also a small gatehouse and an outbuilding on the premises.

Numerical data

Volume: 16,290 m³ (575,300 ft³)
Gross floor space: 4,210 m² (45,300 ft²)
Net floor space: 2,312 m² (24,890 ft²)
Of which private living quarters: 680 m² (7,300 ft²)
Offices: 424 m² (4,560 ft²)
And reception rooms: 916 m² (9,860 ft²)
Windows: 300
Corners on the exterior: 212
Doors: 190, of which 180 are all different

In comparison, the White House has 5,100 m² (55,000 ft²) of floor space.

External links

[Presentation of Mäntyniemi on the president's official site]

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.