Bryggman won the architectural competition for Vierumäki Sports Institute with the proposal ”Kiri” [Spurt]. The institute is located on Salpausselkä ridge, 163 metres above sea level.

The first two buildings of the complex to be completed were the sauna and staff buildings, in 1932, where as the first phase of the main building was completed in 1936.

The core of the main building is a seven-storey block comprising the main entrance, stairs and student dormitory as well as the administrative facilities on the ground floor. The two auditoriums for lectures are situated in an apse-like extension. The two-storey western wing comprised the kitchen, canteen and staff apartments on the ground floor and club rooms on the first floor. The eastern wing housed a sports hall and Roman-style baths, and in 1939 a larger sports hall was built next to it. A swimming hall, planned from the start, was built according to Heikki Sysimetsä’s design in 1963–1966 as an annex.

The design of the main building is Bauhaus-inspired functionalism. The walls were built of brick, with concrete only in the pillars.

Three wooden residential buildings were built along Lake Valkjärvi. The modest staff residence acted as the first Institute building. The director’s residence has a handsome two-storey high space in the corner of the building with a large window overlooking the lake. The doctor’s residence is a cube-like two-storey house. The original sauna building on the lake shore was of dark-tinted wood and had a circular window towards the lake. In 1950–51 the sauna was rebuilt to a more modest design by Bryggman.

Text: Mikko Laaksonen