(Arvid)
(b Helsinki, May 19, 1867; d Helsinki, May 17, 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 ...
