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Before the building of Voikkaa paper mill started in the late 1890's,
there were two villages called Mattila and Hirvelä, which were connected
with the village of Oravala; Voikkaa was a rural area dominated by those
two villages. As the building started, the mill spread evenly over Mattila
and Hirvelä, the lands of Mattila being the centre of it.
The exact date when the history of Voikkaa paper mill started was the 3rd
of October 1897, when Rudolf Elving conquered Voikkaankoski, (rapids in
the river Kymi) with the permission of the Governor of Viipuri Province.
In the same year he was also permitted to build a water power plant. During
the years 1897 - 1901 the mill was equipped with three paper machines as
well as a tunnel and a groundwood plant. In the year 1904 the mill became
a part of Kymi Company.
Exterior features weren't forgotten in the building process either. Architects
Lindgren, Geselius and Saarinen planned the frontage of the main building
of the mill cherishing Finnish traditions and genuine materials. For example,
the main storage building is a good example of this. Unfortunately some
of the buildings were destroyed or badly damaged in a fire in the year 1906.
In subsequent building projects only one architect agency has been used
at a time to keep the mill area harmonious.
The only exception from this is the fire station planned by Walter Thomén.
In the year 1925 the milieu formed a compatible mixture of national romanticism
and classism. However, many of the first buildings in the mill area have
experienced changes during the years as there has been a need to heighten,
enlarge or even totally rebuild them.
The ten years before the Second World War were a time of slow but firm expansion.
This could be seen in two new grinderies, a tower building, a support machine
department as well as other useful additions. The founder of the paper mill,
Rudolf Elving, died in 1927. The 1930's brought a whole new way of architecture,
a smooth and simple style.
The years of war were the opposite of the years of fast development, almost
nothing was built or produced. But this short period was only to create
even faster expansion in the years to come after the war. In the 1950's,
for example, a new hall for paper machines, water purification plant and
a third steam turbine were added to the equipment, and in the 1960's more
and more new buildings rose, such as bleaching plant and debarking plant.
Almost all these new buildings were designed by Arne Helander, who in the
long run has had a remarkable effect on the appearance of the mill area.
In the 1970's and 1980's three paper machines were taken out of use, but
the buildings were saved for other purposes. Generally, these decades were
more full of technical development than building something new. Despite
that, the mill got a new architect, Kari Toppila. All the way to this decade
he has carried out many reforms in the old premises and planned some new
things, too. A good job has been done by him to respect and keep alive the
traditions.
A long and eventful story can be seen looking at the Voikkaa Paper Mill
area and the way it has developed into its present position. All the old
buildings side by side with modern ones are something special, looking at
them is like sensing the long history, but looking far into the future at
the same time.
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