Published in: Helsingin Sanomat, 28th of October, 2004

 - THE AUTHOR OF THE DEMOLISHED BUILDINGS BOOK, LIKES TO WATCH BUILDINGS HIMSELF

- THE BOOK WAS PUBLISHED TODAY

- The Heimola building, which was located in Kluuvikatu, was filled with important Finnish persons some 86 years ago. The first Finnish parliament assembled in that building, which architecture was from late jugend, to approve the senate proposal of Finnish independency. At that time there probably wasn't a single person who would have noticed the tower, which was guarding the neighboring blocks. The tower was modest and didn't meet the modern standards; it was made out of wood and not from stone.

- Half a century later, the stone building whit it's tower was demolished and a modern commercial building was build to the spot in 1972. This new building was five years old when a country boy Antti Manninen was accepted in 1977 to the journalist school of Helsingin Sanomat and he settled to live in Helsinki. Some twenty years passed from that moment, before Manninen and the wooden tower of Heimola building met in the city museum of Helsinki.

- It was a very touching moment; there were about ten pictures in a small room, which were showing buildings from the past and the present building, which now stood on the spot. Manninen who was now working as a journalist in Helsingin Sanomat city section, memorized this great idea and talked about it to his supervisor. After a few weeks, the first article in the series of Demolished Buildings (Puretut Talot) by Antti Manninen, appeared in Helsingin Sanomat. The logo for the article series was of course the wooden tower from the Heimola building.

- After two and a half years later and a one hundred chapters for the article series, Manninen now stands at the corner of Aleksanterinkatu and Kluuvikatu, where years before people decided about eight hour work day and a Prohibition Act. Now here stands a building, which has been build from a smoked glass and is full of advertisements. Meaningless and a boring building says Manninen. Manninen however is not horrified by these demolitions; he explains that he is very careful not to bring out his own feeling about this issue. Manninen feels that it's important to tell people about these things and then they can decide what is their own personal opinion. Mostly the feedback from the writings series has been a positive one, but people have been also asking, that is there any point of feeling sorry for things that has happened in the past and cannot be changed anymore. But the fact remains that the view of Kluuvikatu is just depressing.

- Manninen is a building freak and according to his own words, his hobby is to watch buildings and of course to walk. These two hobbies are easy to combine together, but sometimes the neck is a bit sore says Manninen. He doesn't accuse the people who demolished the buildings, as after the war people wanted to be a modern ones and a very progressive. They wanted Finland to develop and to get rich and this affected to the fact that they wanted to get rid of the old buildings, so that they could build new ones. Second issue was of course money, as more modern building was more effective and you could ask for more rent. 

- We stand at the Kolmen Sepän square and years ago in the corner of Mannerheimintie and Kalevankatu, stand the very decorative Hubert building, but it's gone too and now there's a dark gray stone wall, with a red commercial sign. The ramp that opens on the Kalevankatu side is horrible according to Manninen. He isn't however willing to be against everything new. If it would be just him, he would let people to demolish the Makkaratalo and the Makasiinit. The city has to change it's appearance and to renew itself now and then, but it would be good to let something remain, which still are intact as a whole areas. The saddest example of breaking the city image, comes from the Senaatin square, where the red brown house that peaks behind the corner of the square, might have been a one reason, why the Senaatin square hasn't been accepted to the UNESCO heritage list. You should always look at the Senaatin square, with your back towards the Nordea building Manninen says and laughs.

- The last part of his series Manninen choose years ago and first the series was suppose to be just an eight different writings, but then it was expanded to 16 and finally the whole thing got out of hands. At some point there was a talk of doing 80 separate writings and those were suppose to be published as a book. But as the final deal got delayed, I had a time to write another twenty writings says Mannin while laughing.