ABSTRACT
Saynatsalo is a relatively small town hall and yet, as a result of the quality of its architecture and depth of symbolism, it is one of the century’s most famous and highly regarded. Saynatsalo is a small island in Lake Paijanne in Central Finland, which was uninhabited until 1897, when it was bought by Johan Parviainen, who built a sawmill on it in 1900 and later, in 1914, a larger plywood mill. Finnish timber and paper exports were severely affected by the Depression in the early 1930s and the mills both struggled to recover. The principle approach to the courtyard is adjacent to and below the towering council chamber, and the external stairs extend beyond the end of the library block, thus both clearly signalling the entrance, from the square, and adding further drama and significance to this civic route.
