(b Helsinki, 19 May 1867; d Helsinki, 17 May 1939). Finnish architect. He studied architecture (1884–8) at the Polytechnic Institute, Helsinki, and with F. A. Sjöström (1840–85), an architect who designed several important Neo-classical buildings in Helsinki and elsewhere in Finland. Sjöström’s influence is clearly evident in Lindqvist’s student projects and early independent designs. His first important work, the Merkurius Building (1888–90), 33 Pohjoisesplanadi, Helsinki, was designed when he was 21. The façade of this building, a residential block with shops and offices on the ground and mezzanine floors, demonstrates Lindqvist’s assured handling of Neo-classical forms. It is also notable for the use of modern construction techniques, whereby the upper storeys are supported on cast-iron pillars that allow the office storeys below to be fronted with large plate-glass windows. It is not clear whether this innovation, which represented a completely new approach in Finnish architecture, was the work of Lindqvist or the master builder Elia Heikel (1852–1917), with whom he collaborated on this and other projects in Helsinki until 1900. Heikel was responsible for the plans and structure of all these projects, with Lindqvist designing the façades, and it is probable that Heikel had become acquainted with new building techniques and taught their use to his younger partner. Their final collaboration was the Lundqvist Building (1900; altered 1981), 13 Aleksanterinkatu, Helsinki, one of the first office blocks in the city. This building reflects construction techniques in use in the USA at the time, with interior floors supported by rows of cast-iron columns allowing a flexible arrangement of the working space, while the load-bearing brick façades are eclectic in style, in this case Gothic Revival.

• Lindqvist, Selim (Arvid)
  • Finland, §II, 3: Architecture, after 1809