Iltalehti (24 November 2015) reports on the National Board of Antiquities’ position on the future of Malmi Airport.
– Ever since the future of Malmi Airport was brought up, we have tried to promote a solution that would keep Malmi Airport. Specifically, keep it as a functioning airport, says Mikko Härö, Director of Department of Cultural Environment Protection.
According to Mr. Härö, the survival of just the terminal building isn’t enough for the National Board of Antiquities, even though it has been ranked as an internationally significant example of functionalist architecture. According to the NBA, the airport must have aviation activity in the future too.
Härö describes the shutting down of Malmi Airport as a grave mistake.
– It would be a massive shame. An international-level monument of traffic history and functionalism would be lost.
Härö likens the shutting down of Malmi to the hypothetical idea of razing Tammerkoski, which flows through the city of Tampere, and the old industrial properties along it in order to build new housing.
– In its field, Malmi is the absolute number one site in Finland, and significant even on the international level.
In City of Helsinki’s decision-making apparatus, especially the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Green Party have been eager to shut down the airport. The ranks of the National Coalition have been breaking up, and before the elections the Center Party voiced its support for keeping Malmi Airport.
Read the whole article (in Finnish) »