Department of Physics annual report 2000 - Fysiikan laitos - Helsinki.fi

Theodor Homén (1858-1923), the first holder of the Pippingsköld Professorial
Chair of Applied Physics (1898-1923). The portrait was painted by
Albert Gebhard in 1912 and is owned by the Savolax Student Organization.
The picture is from the University of Helsinki Museum’s Collections.
9,274 square meters and it would be possible to build
premises for four institutions, in addition to the one
that was already available for the Physiological Institution.
Soon a decision was urgent and now the University
acted on its own and in 1905 an agreement
was signed with the City and the lots could thereafter
be utilised by the University. Already at the end
of 1902 a new building project was put forward and
K.G. Nyström was appointed as its architect. The
taken from the area of practical life”. As a conse-
final planning was again delayed by the death of
Plan of the build-
quence, the plans for a new laboratory building
Professor Selim Lemström in 1904, and a pause
ing site at Silta-
were again set aside until a new professor had been
appointed. On the 6 th of June 1895, His Imperial
Majesty decreed the creation of a Chair in Applied
Physics and its first holder, Viktor Theodor
Homén, was appointed on the 12 th of July 1898. It
could not be imagined that each of the professors of
physics would have a departmental building of his
own. They had to share a common laboratory.
After that, the new building plans could once
again be presented; in 1897 there was a return to
the idea of building on Nikolaigatan, on the same
lot as had been suggested earlier. This plan was
rejected. In 1900 a new proposal to erect a suitable
building on a nearby site was presented but again
came while the Chair was to be filled. Once Hjalmar
Tallqvist was appointed the successor, the
planning started again. Now Tallqvist and Homén
were granted the privilege of planning the new
building for the Physical Institute and they also
saw it erected at the Broberg Terrace (Siltavuorenpenger).
In 1908 the Imperial Senate approved the
proposal and at last the final drawings could be
made. In 1911 Hjalmar Tallqvist was finally able
to furnish his compendium on the new, stately
physical laboratory, which includes his description
of the historical development, with a date.
However, a certain taint of criticism could also
be perceived, as L.W. Öholm told Svante Arrhenius
vuori, which was
at the disposal of
the University,
showing the Physiological
Institute’s
building (lower
left), the planned
laboratory building
for physics and
applied physics
(upper right) and
the Prefect’s living
quarters (middle
left).
41
there was no final acceptance. Despite the repeated
refusals that the Consistorium received from the
Chancellor when the erection of a separate building
for a physical laboratory was proposed, the university
indefatigably continued with the aim of improving
the working conditions in its different institutions.
As a consequence of the increasing number of students,
most of the institutions were becoming
cramped. It was therefore evident that the university
in the near future would be forced to enlarge its
premises considerably and the Consistorium therefore
started to look around for suitable locations. The
interest now turned towards Broberget (Siltavuori),
where many lots still were not exploited and soon
were to be sold by the city. The area of land was