Type-planning a Fenno-Swedish identity. The housing association for the Swedish speaking areas of Finland and the ideal rural home between 1938 and 1969

Better housing for the rural population was an important part of the Finnish housing discussion in the 20 th century. Between 1938 and 1969, Bostadsföreningen för svenska Finland (The housing association for the Swedish speaking areas of Finland) promoted rational housing for the Fenno-Swedish minority. The construction of a collective identity for a minority through dwelling ideals is the main focus of the article. Methods as identity process theory and perspectives on architecture and nationalism are used to interpret the material. Specific questions relate to how modernist architecture became a symbol when constructing an identity for a non-homogeneous minority. The housing association viewed modernist housing as a solution to a political and ideological problem. With efficient homes, Fenno-Swedish farmers were less inclined to sell their homesteads to Finnish speakers and move to the cities, where they were assimilated into the Finnish culture. Mobility was perceived as a threat to the minority, since it led to a loss of voters in areas of political importance. Modernist architecture combined with aesthetics from the vernacular building tradition were used to make the farmers proud of their ancestral homes, willing to stay, securing the ideological home of the Fenno-Swedes.


Introduction
During the 20 th century, modernist ideals became important in the Finnish discussion on architecture and societal development. After independence in 1917, nationality in architecture was expressed through modernism, abandoning the earlier national romantic style. Since independence was followed by a traumatic civil war, expressions of nationality needed to be built on a common ground, breaking with the problematic past. Beginning in the 1920s, housing policies made detached houses the solution for solving the national problem of inadequate housing, since the government did not have means to fund large scale construction projects and saw ideological threats in mass housing. Modernist type-planned wooden houses became the most common built structure in the 1940s and 1950s. The new ideals and type-planned drawings were spread to the greater public by several associations. One of these was Bostadsföreningen för svenska Finland (the housing association for the Swedish speaking parts of Finland), active between 1938 and 1969. The association produced five main publications, thousands of drawings and staged yearly exhibitions. Their aim was to address the dwelling problems amongst the rural Swedish speaking minority.
The coastal areas in Western and Southern Finland where the Fenno-Swedes lived were important for the minority's identity. When Finland, after 600 years of Swedish rule, became a Russian grand duchy following the war of 1808-1809, interest in nationalistic questions arose. Inspired by Hegelian philosophy on the spirit of the nation, discussions on the status of the different languages in Finland began. From the mid-19 th century, many argued that Finnish, which was spoken by the majority, should be the only national language. The language debate became more inflamed towards the end of the century, and as a response, the Swedish speaking elite initiated the creation of a common Fenno-Swedish identity to unite the minority. In this context, the ancestral or Swedish soil, lovingly tended by the honest yeoman, became a central ideological construction. In order to preserve the political status quo for bourgeois Fenno-Swedish politicians, the conservative Swedish farmers had to be persuaded to remain in their voting areas.
The construction of a collective identity for a minority through a discussion on dwelling ideals is the focus of this paper. Here, Bostadsföreningen and their work during the post-war years is used as case study. The main questions relate to how architecture and education of the masses were used as a way to promote identity amongst the minority. Special interest is taken in the ideals that were projected through the association's drawings and publications. How did a proper rural Fenno-Swede dwell and behave in their home? How was the Fenno-Swedish identity expressed through architecture? How was modernism seen as useful for the ideological cause of Fenno-Swedishness?
The main sources consist of the association's archives as well as the large amount of type-planned drawings at the Museum of Finnish Architecture 2 . A further insight into the ideology of the association can be found in their publications on dwelling, as well as in articles in Fenno-Swedish newspapers appearing from the beginning of the 20 th century to 1970. The visual material was subjected to architectural analysis and the texts underwent close reading in search of discourses related to identity, which were then analysed by methods of Identity Process Theory. The results were further interpreted according to theories on the relation between nationalism and architecture.
Bostadsföreningen has not been examined to a greater extent. The association itself published a brief summary of its history shortly after it was discontinued [1]. In academic research, it has mainly been mentioned as an example of the associations working with type planned houses, for instance by Kirsi Saarikangas in her examination of Finnish type-planned houses in the 1940s [2,3]. The Museum of Finnish Architecture includes some information on the association in their web resources on the post-war era [4]. Their modernization of kitchens is mentioned in an article by Yrsa Lindqvist from 2009 [5]. The creation of Fenno-Swedishness has been examined in several academic disciplines, but not yet from the perspective of architecture. A recent contribution in linguistics is the dissertation from 2015 by Jennica Thylin-Klaus on the creation of a proper written Fenno-Swedish [6]. One of the main works on the identity process is Gränsfolkets barn from 2001 by Åström, Lönnqvist and Lindqvist [7]. The connection between the Fenno-Swedish cause, ideologies and scientific theories during the early th century has been examined in an anthology from 1998 edited by Härmänmaa and Mattilla [8].
Identity Process Theory (IPT) was developed within social psychology and today it is a methodology for exploring how identities are created both amongst individuals and in groups, also used in the social sciences [9,10]. At the core of IPT lies the concepts of self-esteem, self-efficacy, distinctiveness, belonging and continuity and their function as motivational factors. Through IPT, the ways a perceived threat affects these mechanisms and the ways it triggers coping strategies is examined. In the Bostadsföreningen case, research on relations between places, identities and geopolitical change by Dixon, Durrheim and Di Masso from 2014 has been useful [11]. Here, conflicts over space during the transition towards democracy in South Africa were examined combining the key concepts of IPT with the notion of political ideology in relation to identities. Events leading to environmental change and peoples' reactions towards the changes can shed light on how places contribute to the sense of identity. In this case, the architecture is examined through the described threats to the Fenno-Swedish identity as well as how the association tried to meet them.
Research in the connection between architecture and ideology has been popular during the past few decades. An important work on the relations between architecture, power and national identity is Lawrence J. Vale's publication from 1992 [12]. Here, exercising power through architecture was examined as means of stylistic denotation. An anthology on nationalism and architecture was edited by Raymond Quek and Darren Deane in 2012 [13]. Here, authors explore the relation between architecture and national causes, especially how these were manifested in buildings. A similar approach in relation to place identity and its role as a symbol in national narratives was used by Aspa Gospodini in 2004 [14]. In a Finnish perspective, the way modernism became the foundation of the national architecture after independence has been examined by for instance Maarit Henttonen [15] 3 , and Kirsi Saarikangas [16].

Bostadsföreningen för svenska Finland
In 1938, the results of a national survey on housing presented a depressing picture of the Finnish housing situation. Most dwellings were small farmsteads, lacked modern facilities and 20 percent housed at least five persons per room [17: 6]. Bostadsföreningen för svenska Finland was founded the same autumn as one of many reactions. The activities were concentrated around the architect's office led by Eva Kuhlefelt-Ekelund and Marianne Granberg. Both had commissions besides the work for the association, but the type-planned drawings and adaptions for individual customers were a constant part of their architectural production. Other architects were involved in the association on a volunteering basis, as interior architects Elli Ruuth, Elna Kiljander and Eva Johansson-Pape who made drawings for furniture or standardized kitchen cabinetry 4 .
The drawings for buildings consisted of five main types with dozens of standardised sub-types each. In the 1950s when the one-storied houses became popular, a complete set of drawings according to the new standards were produced. Still, they continued to provide the older drawings for 1½ storied houses, as well as for houses with wood-fired heating, despite the adaption of all drawings to central heating in the early 1950s 5 .
The association conducted yearly exhibitions on dwelling all over the countryside. In addition, the association's activities were frequently described by local newspapers and journals. In collaborating with other associations, as the Folkhälsan association for public health amongst the Fenno-Swedes and the Martha association for housewives, the importance of a proper dwelling culture was spread to the Swedish speaking population. The association's greatest success was the participation in the Yttermark agricultural fair in 1946. Here, a complete building was erected as a part of the exhibitions. "The model house" was to be inhabited by a farmer and his large family and 15,000 persons visited the house during the fair 6 . The association gradually lost its importance towards the late 1950s due to increasing competition especially from producers of prefabricated houses. In 1969, the board decided to discontinue the association due to the lack of active members as well as the decreasing interest in the drawings [1: 25-28]. board for several years. Several of the architects whose careers were in the 1960s and 1970s in Finland were engaged in the Bostadsföreningen as young students in the 1940s and 1950s, for instance Erik Kråkström. 5 The annual reports of Bostadsföreningen presents yearly achievements, statistics and members in different workgroups. The question on one-storied houses versus houses with basement and attic was discussed in the annuals between 1956 and 1958. Årsberättelse 1956, 1957 and 1958, Åbo Akademis bibliotek, handskriftssamlingarna, Bostadsföreningen för svenska Finlands arkiv. 6 The agricultural exhibition in Yttermark 28-30. 6

Perceived threats toward the minority
An examination of articles in Fenno-Swedish newspapers and journals from the early 20 th century shows that the threats against the minority can be summarized as societal development and the lack of unity inside the minority [1]. The Fenno-Swedes were a highly heterogeneous group. On the one hand, there was the elite which had been the ruling class during the Swedish era. On the other hand, there was the main bulk of the Fenno-Swedes, who were tradesmen, workers, farmers or fishermen. Since the Swedish speaking areas were separated geographically, Fenno-Swedes were more inclined to identify themselves with a regional identity than with a common Fenno-Swedishness [7: 16-20].
Changes in the political system, such as universal suffrage, and the at times hostile debate on the national languages, contributed to the sense of insecurity. Pro-Finnish groups argued that a national monoculture was needed, while Swedish was seen as a remnant of an oppressive colonial system. The Swedish-speaking politicians were not inclined to give up their positions and discontinue Swedish as a national language, which resulted in efforts in rallying the minority.
Migration was another threat. Beginning in the 1920s, women in particular moved to the cities and the phenomenon was referred to as "the flight from the countryside" 7 . The reasons mentioned were often primitive living conditions, overlong workdays and lack of entertainment in the countryside. For the Fenno-Swedish cause, the conservative voters in the countryside were of great importance. When they moved to work in industry, they often ceased to behave in a way that would sustain the minority, such as starting to speak Finnish and voting for socialist parties. An often-stated ideological problem was that despite being perceived as the carriers of the Fenno-Swedish culture, the farmers showed little interest in the Swedish cause. Therefore, it became important to "awaken" the yeoman and make him take responsibility for his position in the Fenno-Swedish identity construction [7: 30-35].

Fenno-Swedish coping strategies
When examining threats against the Fenno-Swedish identity through IPT concepts, it seems that all aspects involved in creating and maintaining the identity on a personal level were perceived as targeted. Beginning with continuity and self-efficacy, the wish to abolish Swedish as a national language would endanger the long tradition of being able to live out one's life "in Swedish". Many of the Fenno-swedes did not speak Finnish, which threatened their possibilities for communication with authorities and the rest of society. The sense of belonging was diminished, and the feeling of being unwanted in the Finnish society was often expressed in the articles 8 . What was seen as constant attacks against the minority affected self-esteem and distinctiveness as well when Fenno-Swedes were regarded with suspicion or even hostility, especially when branded as unpatriotic. When Swedish speakers sold their farms, the land was often bought by Finnish speakers. This made the Fenno-Swedish villages gradually turn bilingual which 7 The Flight from the countryside was discussed continuously beginning in the 1910s well into the late 1960s. Women's part in the development became more highlighted towards the 1930s. changed the identity of the home region, which according to Dixon, Durrheim and Di Masso functions as a trigger for coping mechanisms [11: 286-289].
The creation of a group identity to counteract the threats began as an elite endeavour in the mid-19 th century and became a broader movement during the 20 th century. The idea of language as common denominator for all Fenno-Swedes was later combined with contemporary ideas on eugenics. Since much of the identity construction was based on 19 th century bourgeois culture, the mother and the family were central concepts 9 .Furthermore, the idea of the "Swedish soil" was given great importance. All over Europe, nationalists had turned towards the vernacular culture to find the genuine bearers of the national culture 10 . In this case, the Swedish speaking yeoman and his family became a symbol of the Fenno-Swedes.

Creating identity through architecture
The Fenno-Swedish minority did not have official buildings of their own. Therefore, the expression of a national -or in this case a cultural -identity was shown through private architecture. The drawings and texts by Bostadsföreningen show that they negotiated an embodiment of the mental idea of the Fenno-Swedes through ideal housing solutions. The architecture should reflect the modern Fenno-Swedish farmer by combining modernist values and local vernacular tradition, as in the drawings for Mönsterstugan. Since detached houses were of great importance in the Finnish modernist movement, a proper architecture for the building type was widely discussed. The Finnish vernacular building culture was seen as a good source of inspiration, since the traditional houses were perceived as "honest" in form, developed for centuries to use all materials rationally without excess or unsightly ornamentation, thus being compatible with modernistic ideals as well 11 . The Bostadsföreningen drawings depict low, preferably one-storeyed houses with vertical panelling, lack of ornament and windows placed where they corresponded with a need in the interior, following the ideals presented on a national level. However, the entrance had some ornamentation, often in the form of a portico which stylistically referred to the local, Fenno-Swedish vernacular tradition, see Figure 1. Another specific trait for the association's architecture was the adaption of the modernist building-types to both the traditional Fenno-Swedish ways of living and to the utopian idea of the educated agricultural household of the future. This can be examined through the associations architectural ideology "Unity, work, rest". These concepts permeated all the writings and drawings produced and were easily merged with the ideas of rational housing. Unity was the core value among the association's rhetoric as well as in the pro-Swedish ideology. "Swedish unity" was a device often used in a political context. Here, it was symbolised very concretely through the use of a large family room, storstugan, which was common in the vernacular architecture in Sweden and Finland. The association stressed that their drawings differed from the Finnish and Swedish contemporary counterparts by placing the family room with integrated kitchen at the heart of the home. Drawings by Finnish organizations often separated the kitchen from the living room, thus making it more difficult for the mother to interact with the rest of the family 12 . Since she was seen as the carrier of the Fenno-Swedish culture, it became logical to place her work station as a part of the family room.
Work was explicitly interpreted as the woman's chores. Since one of the most important parts of the mission was to keep Swedish-speaking women from moving to the cities, her conditions had to be improved. According to the association, this was done by installing running water, plumbing and rational kitchen cabinets 13 . The interest in rational kitchens awoke in Finland in the early 1920s. Several female architects visited exhibitions abroad and returned with the ideas from the Frankfurter küche or Swedish standardisation efforts. These ideas were incorporated in the association's plans for kitchen cabinetry, which became the most popular of the associations products as about 5000 were sold. As many did not have means to build a new house, modernization of old farmsteads was generally recommended, and especially a new kitchen and a washroom were stressed as minimum requirements. Rest and healthcare was another part of the ideology. Since the early 1920s the Folkhälsan association promoted improving the general health amongst the Fenno-Swedes as a strategy for maintaining the minority's position. The Fenno-Swedes were to thrive if they practiced cleanliness, personal hygiene and took positive eugenics to heart by making sure only people with "good" genes procreated. In order to make the group 12 See for instance [3], chapters 6 and 7. 13 See for instance, the presentation Husmoderns krav på bostaden (the housewife's demands on her dwelling) which was held at numerous events by Bostadsföreningen representatives. expand, each "good" woman should have at least four children 14 . These messages were implemented in the drawings as well. All houses had room for accommodating at least four children, often more. The parents and children of different sexes had separate bedrooms and no beds were placed along outer walls. It was claimed that it was "the Fenno-Swedish way" to place beds along inner walls to avoid draft and thus diseases. For personal hygiene, all type-plans contained a small washroom. Mental hygiene was taken into consideration by making sure the buildings were large enough. Every family member should be able to find a quiet space inside the home. The Bostadsföreningen architectural endeavour can be understood in the light of the perceived threat against the Fenno-Swedish minority. The political need to stop the flight 14 In a Finnish context, the same questions were debated. For example, Väestöliitto (the Finnish population and family welfare federation) campaigned that four children were an absolute minimum while six were positioned as the norm. [3: 61] from the countryside turned into a process of creating a safe haven for the minority, consisting of homes where the characteristics of the Fenno-Swedes could be projected and cultivated. The visual expression of a Fenno-Swedish identity in architecture was a combination of two main ideological nationalist traditions in the early 20 th century. On the one hand, the use of modernist architecture in order to unite a group of people that did not have much in common follows a global pattern. By promoting modernist values, as Lawrence J. Vale has concluded, the troublesome past or internal differences can be overseen, when the view is turned towards the future. On the other hand, as stated by Aspa Gospodini, the interest in local vernacular culture functions as a reminder of the common history, making claims for Fenno-Swedish belonging legitimate in a historical perspective.
In the architecture promoted by Bostadsföreningen the values are combined as well. Good architecture was well composed, practical, harmonized with the surrounding nature and the inhabitant's station in life as well as making good use of all the latest research in effective housing and home economics. The association clearly made a connection between what the architecture represented and the Fenno-Swede. Through improved housing conditions, an understanding of how to take care of home, health, economy and education, the Fenno-Swede with the perceived unique Swedish culturaland genetic heritage, would be able to continue living at his homestead, thus keeping the Fenno-Swedishness as well as the "Swedish soil" intact for future generations.