Location: Savonlinna

‘Why Savonlinna?’ is a question often asked when people find out where EASA 2025 will be organized. Savonlinna, the location of EASA Rhizome, is a small city in Eastern Finland, located by lake Saimaa, which is the largest of the tens of thousands of lakes in Finland. The location close to the eastern border, far from the growing Southern parts of the country, creates regional challenges related to shrinking population and lack of connections. Yet, these so-called difficulties also open up an opportunity for the EASA community to focus on the interwindment of societal structures, the challenges they currently face and their relation to the natural world. The theme Rhizome offers a great lens for approaching such issues by giving tools to critically examine these connections especially in the context of Savonlinna region.

Savonlinna is known for the lake Saimaa surrounding it, and the rich history which is most monumentally manifested in Olavinlinna castle, where also the well respected Savonlinna Opera Festival takes place every July. The city has beautiful and historical buildings but it is good to note, that because of factors such as late urbanization and wars, the built heritage of Finland and therefore also Savonlinna is relatively young, compared to many other European countries. The economy of the city is focused on technology, forest industry and tourism, which are closely tied to the history and nature of the city. 

Last but definitely not least, the final reason for selecting Savonlinna as a location for EASA 2025 was the specific site of Lehtiniemi, which was, before anything else, a result of successful cooperation with Savonlinna city officials. The serenity and beauty of outdoor space – with trees, green lawns, interesting buildings and closeness of the Saimaa lake – creates a soft space hopefully allowing reflection, creativity and joyful co-living within the EASA community.

SITE: LEHTINIEMI

The site for EASA Rhizome is Lehtiniemi, former manor, located 14 kilometers away from the Savonlinna center, by lake Saimaa close to forests and old fields. The history of Lehtiniemi manor dates back to the 17th century as a manor farm owned by a few different noble families. From the 1930s to 2008 Lehtiniemi hosted an emäntäkoulu, a school teaching domestic skills to women and wives. After 2008 the site has mostly been unused except for a few years in 2015 to 2017 when a refugee reception center operated there. As Lehtiniemi is quite disconnected from the urban context, it offers EASA a tight site where focus can be put on communal life: EASA Rhizome will be in nature quite compact and we will be spending a lot of time on the site. 

The site consists of around ten buildings and a garden with a shore to lake Saimaa. The biggest building on site was built in 1929 to be a school building. The oldest preserved building is from the 19th century and newest from the 1990s. One of the buildings is a sauna next to the lake. The buildings and the surrounding garden will accommodate us and have spaces for lectures, workshops, bar, eating and other important functions EASA will need. One of the buildings in the site will be demolished soon after EASA which may offer some possibilities for workshops that might want to make use of it. 

Since the site is far from the urban context, surrounded by a lake, forest, a garden and fields, it offers opportunities for EASA to focus on the relationship we have to these surroundings and the workshops to explore our connection to our environment.