Usko Nyström
| Usko Nyström | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Zachris Usko Nyström 6 September 1861 Virrat, Finland |
| Died | 6 January 1925 Kotka, Finland |
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Practice | Arkkitehtitoimisto Usko Nyström─Petrelius─Penttilä |
| Buildings | Grand Hôtel Cascade, Imatra Schalin apartment building, Helsinki Mielikki apartment building, Helsinki Lammi Church restoration |
| Projects | Vyborg City Hall |
Zachris Usko Nyström, known as Usko Nyström, (6 September 1861 – 6 January 1925) was a Finnish architect and one of the most influential professors of architecture at Helsinki University of Technology; among his students were later notable architects Eliel Saarinen and Alvar Aalto. One of the pioneering architects of the early Art Nouveau or Jugendstil style in Finland at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, he continued to influence generations of students by introducing them to the style. Many of his key architectural works were made while he was in the architectural partnership Usko Nyström─Petrelius─Penttilä which operated from 1895 to 1908. His most famous work is the Grand Hôtel Cascade (1903) (nowadays known as the Imatran Valtionhotelli) in Imatra.
Usko Nyström was born in Virrat, Finland, at a time when Finland was a Grand Duchy under the rule of Russia. His parents were Johan Abraham Nyström, a civil servant, and Clara Chalotta Nyström (née Vikman). There were several children in the family. Nyström’s brother, Konrad Into Nyström, is even more well known, as a photographer, writer and translator, under the name I. K. Inha.
Usko Nyström was schooled in the city of Hämeenlinna before going on in 1880 to study first mathematics and then “humanities”, among other things aesthetics, at the Imperial Alexander University of Finland (the precursor to the present-day University of Helsinki). However, in 1885 he switched to studying architecture at the Polytechnic Institute in Helsinki, graduating in 1888. While still studying he worked first for architect Josef Stenbäck (a notable designer of churches) and then architect Gustav Nyström (no relation), who was also professor of architecture at the Polytechnic Institute. He achieved some success almost immediately on graduating, winning the competition for the design of the pedestal for the memorial bust to commemorate the architect Carl Ludwig Engel – but it was never realised.
In 1890 Nyström won a state grant to travel and study abroad, studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1890-91, and travelling throughout Europe. He travelled to Italy and Greece, exploring the ancient architecture, as well as around France and to England, where he was particularly interested in the medieval church architecture. During his time abroad he kept detailed notebooks and sketchbooks (nowadays held in the Museum of Finnish Architecture archives). In 1892, soon after returning to Finland, he was appointed assistant lecturer at the Polytechnic Institute (founded 1879), where he himself had previously been a student, a position he held for the rest of his life, and where the head of the school at the time was Gustaf Nyström. He was a highly skilled draftsman and his talent was used first in teaching linear and free-hand drawing. In 1901 he was promoted to lecturer in architecture, teaching ancient and medieval architecture and their styles, along with exercises in design and drawing. For many years Nyström also taught ornamentation and style history at the Central School of Applied Arts in Helsinki (precursor to the present-day Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture). He received the honorary title of professor in 1922. It has often been noted by his former students how very popular he was as a teacher, in part due to his keen sense of humour but also in conveying something of his drawing skills to the students. He also had a significant role in spreading the Art Nouveau style to several generations of students.
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