The demolition of an Art Nouveau building in Turku, 2011
Jan-Erik Andersson’s video work The Destruction of Beauty is published on YouTube to influence the debate about to role of ornate wooden building for the built environment. The ornate Finnish Art Nouveau buildings with the ground floor made of bricks and the first floor made of wood are unique.
The”Blue House” (Sininen talo) building in Turku, by Carl Armfelt, was built in 1902 and destroyed in 2011 as a consequence of a political decision made by the City Council. The house was an icon in the cityscape and could have been saved by a more imaginative city planning strategy.
The video has also been shown in exhibitions on a monitor, mounted on an ornate part saved from the building.