THE OPERATION OF PRO SUNILA
The founding meeting of the Pro Sunila Society was held on 1st June 2000 in Kantola. The financing granted by the City of Kotka and other parties required that it become a registered society, which it then did in spring 2001. The society has in many ways strived to make its home location known and to promote both its development and the community spirit of its inhabitants.
¨LIVING SUNILA¨
In 2002-2003 Sunila was one of fifteen suburbs in Finland that participated in the "Lähiöuudistus 2000" [Suburb Renewal 2000] scheme with its project "Elävä Sunila" [Living Sunila]. Pro Sunila´s partners were the City of Kotka and the Ministry of the Environment. In connection with the project, the State Housing Fund awarded funding for, amongst other things, the much needed repair of plumbing and electricity services, which finally raised the standard of even the most modest flats from the 1930s level to the present day level.
Sunila was presented to the public during the Kotka Housing Fair in 2002. Over a period of one month visitors could come to see a working-class flat furnished in the 1940´s style, a recently renovated flat, the ROT typehouses, the former Sunila director´s residence, a summer cafe with an art exhibition, and a photo exhibition about the origin of Sunila. The Finnish Housing Fair awarded Pro Sunila the Casa Humana award.
The European Commission´s Culture 2000 programme awarded funding to the City of Kotka for the project "MoMo Neighbourhood Cooperation" (MOMONECO), in which four areas in Europe built in the Functionalist style were presented, telling about the richness of the Modernist building tradition that came about within the framework of a common goal. Sunila in Finland, Bellevue-Bellavista in Denmark, Bat´ovany-Partizanske in Slovakia and Ivrea in Italy represent community building following the ideals of the 1930s. Each area was presented through exhibitions and seminars arranged in each of the countries. See: http://momoneco.kotka.fi
EVENTS
Concern for the unused building that formerly housed the sauna, laundry and post office prompted Pro Sunila to contact the owner of the building, the property investment company Kapiteeli Plc, and to establish a summer cafe there called "Cafe Aino" . The former post office premises were, with voluntary help, converted into a café, which also held exhibitions of the work of local artists. While doing this Sunila was promoted and a list of potential buyers of the building was made. In summer 2005 the building was bought by an entrepreneur who established a hostel called Aallon maja [Aalto´s Cabin]. Pro Sunila has continued cooperation with the new owner.
For a few winters Pro Sunila has organized a "Festival of Light" where, for instance, flats have been open for viewing, historical photographs have been projected on to the gable walls of buildings, there has been horse- or dog-pulled sledges, abandoned houses have been ´occupied´. Also downhill sledging events, tombolas, and judo displays have been organised, mulled wine [glögi] served, etc... Impressive displays of outdoor candles have been the common denominator for these festive events.
Pro Sunila has arranged architectural trips to Jyväskylä, Helsinki, Summa, Imatra, Anjalankoski and Lahti. Trips abroad have been arranged to Prague, Brno and Zlin in the Czech Republic, to Bratislava and Partizänske in Slovakia, to Tallinn, Tartu, Viljandi, Pärnu and Narva in Estonia, and Vyborg in Russia.
In the event "Sunilan pyykkipäivät 2005"(Sunila Laundry Days 2005) around 500 pupils visited the Sunila Activity Centre (the former primary school) and painted pictures on cloth sheets donated by the inhabitants of Kotka. The result was 327 sheet and pillowcase artworks which were hung in a large field in Valliniemi, where laundry used to be dried after having been washed in the public laundry. In this way an ´ancient relic´ was brought back to life, from the time when weekly laundering was a collective event. The Laundry Days event included the voluntary clearing of the field and the repair of the drying racks, showing a video made by pupils from the Hakala School and an opening programme where the pupils from the Rauhala School played music with, amongst other things, buckets and washboards. The project was realised jointly between Pro Sunila and the LaKu project (for furthering children´s culture).
In autumn 2006 the Kymenlaakso summer university, the City of Anjalankoski and Pro Sunila held a joint seminar "In Alvar Aalto´s footsteps in Kymenlaakso". Presentations were made at the Tehtaanmäki School in Inkeroinen and in Kantola in Sunila about those projects that the industry had implemented on the basis of Alvar Aalto´s plans as well as the current situation, and there was a discussion regarding their conservation. In connection with the seminar, there was a trip to Vyborg, Russia, including a visit to the Alvar Aalto Library, as well as the County Archives building and Art Museum both designed by architect Uno Ullberg.
THE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION
The first task of Pro Sunila was to return public awareness of the under-valued gem that is Sunila. In order to promote its cause, the organisation has published four issues of a newsletter presenting both the area and the activities of Pro Sunila. The area has been shown to various groups of visitors. The activities of Pro Sunila have been featured in the local, national and international media. Information drives have been held in Kantola and the neighbourhood clubhouse. Pro Sunila has its own web pages, which have been translated into English as an extension project of the exhibition at the Barbican Centre in London called "Alvar Aalto through the eyes of Shigeru Ban"
STORIES OF SUNILA
Sunila was in its heyday a unique area with a rich social life. In the neighbourhood clubhouse one can still meet people who lived through the golden age (1930s -1950s) of Sunila. People felt that there was a need to record their experiences. Also the story of the transformation of Sunila from a close-knit industrial community to an ordinary commuter suburb (1960s-2000s) requires a narrator. In cooperation with the Kotka Neighbourhood Clubhouse Society and Helsinki University, a study circle called "The Stories of Sunila" was founded. The meetings of the study circle turned out to be lively occasions for reminiscing and participants wrote down their memories, on the basis of which two books have been published:
“Sunila – kylät piipun varjossa” [Sunila – The villages in the shadow of the chimney] was published in 2004, and awarded with an ‘honorary mention’ at the 2005 Finnish Labour Heritage Days; “Sunila – kylät piipun varjossa II” [Sunila – The villages in the shadow of the chimney II] was published in December 2006.
The books contain stories from 1919 to the 1970s written by the old inhabitants of Sunila or edited on the basis of interviews. During the course of the work, hundreds of old photographs were acquired and artefacts linked with the life of the inhabitants have been recorded.
"SUNILA TAKES OFF"
The "Sunila Takes Off" project (2005-2007) aims at a development process within the Sunila residential area with an emphasis on conservation. This project supports the renewal process of the official Detailed Plan for the residential area of the pulp mill designed by Alvar Aalto by means of complementary ´Building practice guidelines´ and an ´Environmental Plan´ , by organising joint activities with the residents, property owners and business entrepreneurs of the area, as well as debates and events for public participation, and through cooperation with the construction departments of trade colleges. Additionally, a regional data base and a ´spare-parts depository´ for building parts are being created, the oral tradition recorded and various events organised.
The project is supported by, among others, the Regional Council of Kymenlaakso, Cursor Oy, the Kotka-Hamina Regional Development Company, the European Regional Development Fund, the Southeast Finland Regional Environment Centre, the City of Kotka, The Finnish Cultural Foundation, The Arts Council of Finland, The Arts Council of Southeast Finland, Sunila Oy and housing companies in the region. Read more
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Working-class flat furnished in the 1940s style on show during the housing fair in Kotka
A road linking the Bat’a shoe factory and residential area in Bat’ovany during the 1940s. There are many similarities between the social organisation of the shoe-factory community and the Sunila pulp mill community.
Newly renovated two room flat in Honkala. Particular attention has been paid to the preservation of the original character and detailing when modernizing the flats.
The working-class flats in Honkala and Mäntylä received proper bathrooms only in 2002. The newly built shower alcoves protrud into the living room or kitchenette, yet the spatial character of the flats was preserved.
Voluntary workers in the garden in front of Aallon maja.
"Sunila laundry days" exhibition in 2005.
One of the works.
Boys waiting for the company bus to take them berry-picking. Illustration from the book "Sunila - kylät piipun varjossa" [Sunila - The villages in the shadow of the chimney]Photo owned by Esko Mäkelä.
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