A stone's throw from our hotel is Helsinki's oldest park, established in 1812, though my guidebook says its genesis harks back to the establishment of the Imperial Academy of Turku Botanic Garden in 1678. This year, a flying saucer has landed on the lawn. See it behind Steven in the picture above.
The flying saucer is actually a newly minted Futuro house, based on plans and restored moulds from 1968. TimeOut Helsinki provides further
details:
"Sitting outside the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden is a gleaming white structure that looks suspiciously like a flying saucer. It is, in fact, a Futuro House, one of the strangest and most instantly recognisable creations in Finnish design history. ...Finnish architect Matti Suuronen designed the Futuro in 1968, at the height of Space Age optimism. Made from fibreglass-reinforced plastic and perched on legs, the elliptical prefabricated house was designed to be lightweight, easily transported and installed almost anywhere. ...The Futuro now sitting in Kaisaniemi is a particularly special specimen. Futuro No. 21 is newly made according to Suuronen’s original plans – reportedly the first completely new Futuro seen in Finland for almost 60 years. It was produced using the original moulds, which were restored especially for the project."
The hatch door was open, but reservations were needed. We enjoyed from afar.
The botanic gardens have assorted greenhouses, the Palm House dating from 1899. They contain tropical plants foreign to Finns, but well known to us. The hothouses must be a treat when it's below zero in the winter. During WWII (actually, the "Continuation War" for the Finns, 1941-1944) the Soviets bombed the garden. Only a cypress and some water lily seeds survived; all the other plants froze. The water lillies where in full bloom for us.
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