In 2021 I did a project for help to rescue one of the rarest wooden buildings in Sortavala – Town Hall (Sortavalan Raatihuone). It was designed by Frans Anatolius Sjöström and constructed in 1885. The building was in bad condition therefore two funds: Vnimanie and the Kronid Gogolev Foundation organized a fundraiser to repair the roof in order to preserve the building for the further restoration and later creation of the Museum of History and Architecture there. I suggested to the current owners of the building my view on a project of the museum.
I did a huge research through the archives and decided to highlight work of the great architects like Eliel Saarinen, Wivi Lönn, Uno Ulberg, Herman Gesellius, Jac Ahrenberg, who created beautiful buildings in my home town. My point was to encourage society to preserve the heritage instead of ruin it.
The project was made to draw attention to the crumbling monument of wooden architecture and to highlight the works of talented architects and significant people of the city. The building has retained its original layout and many beautiful wooden details. Fragments of the original wall paint were found in two rooms, I used them as a palette.
While I was working on this project I used materials from the archives of the Museum of Finnish Architecture, National Archives of Finland and the Kronid Gogolev Foundation.