The wooden “Wanderers” sculptures at the Kivenlahti metro station have been named Alis and Ylis. The shorter sculpture is called Alis, and the taller one is Ylis. The names of the wooden figures were chosen by a vote, with Alis and Ylis receiving 65 per cent of all votes. Voting took place from 7–17 December 2021, and a total of 1,601 votes were cast.
Residents of Kivenlahti have given the areas of Kivenlahti the nicknames Ala-Kivenlahti (“Lower Kivenlahti”) and Ylä-Kivenlahti (“Upper Kivenlahti”), also shortened to Alis and Ylis. Three people proposed the names and explained their reasoning:
- “Alis is used in reference to lower Kivenlahti, and Ylis refers to upper Kivenlahti.”
- “People talk about Kivenlahti as upper Kivenlahti and lower Kivenlahti.”
- “Folks have just been talking about Ylis and Alis (Upper and Lower Kivenlahti).”
How the names were chosen
There was an open invitation to submit names from 17 November–2 December 2021. Altogether 208 names were submitted. From among all the proposed names, the jury chose five pairs as finalists: Alis and Ylis, Antas and Tyskas, Möhkö and Mahti, Steni and Vikke, and Tullen and Mennen. The public voted for their favourite from among the finalists between 7 and 17 December 2021. A total of 1,601 votes were cast.
The Jury Chairman was the sculptor Kalle Mustonen. The jury was made up of Petteri Littu, an architect from ALA Architects, which is responsible for the architectural design of the Kivenlahti metro station; Kimmo Leivo, Project Director for the City of Espoo’s Urban Environment Sector; Toni Penttala, shopkeeper of the Kivenlahti and Kivenlahdenkatu K-Market grocery stores; and Pauliina Wiskari, owner of the Wiskarila restaurant. The Jury Secretary was Länsimetro’s Communications Manager Marianne Partanen.