Vuosaari Fire Case

Like many other cities Helsinki, the Finnish capital, was bombed during the Second World War. In order to confuse the bombers, the people of Helsinki lit numerous big fires outside the city so that the pilots would mistake them for the city lights. As a result, they dropped their bombs far from houses, in fields. The fires in Vuosaari saved the town of Helsinki 50 years ago. In honor of this ingenious deception, there are now 132 light torches mounted on posts on both sides of the Vuosaari Road. The light posts, between which are the actual road lightning fittings are suspended on wires, are made of perforated steel plate. Another lighting fixture is mounted at the foot of the post, and together with the perforated metal surface the light from this fixture produces a moir� phenomenon: into a passing car the artificial light seems to glow like a flame. In daytime the row of posts and the wire roofing over the road create a uniform space, a tunnel through which the landscape is experienced.