Finlandia Hall reopens for public consumption in Helsinki

Alvar Aalto’s master plan for a vast cultural village lining Töölö Bay in Helsinki never really saw the light of day. A gleaming marble skyline devoted to music, art, architecture and discovery, it fell apart bit by bit in the years leading up to his death in 1976, leaving the northern edge of town slightly desolate, dominated by the expanding rail system.

But one monument survived: the monolithic Finlandia Hall. Completed in 1971 as a concert venue and meeting place, it welcomed modern Finnish society like an ancient palace reimagined with Carrara marble panels that appear almost quilted into place. More than 20,000 sq m in all, it splayed out across the bay’s southern bank, its vertical windows, cantilevered stairwells and trapezoidal rooftop volumes causing op art optical illusions for a mesmerised public. This month, it reopens to a new generation after a three-year renovation.

The revitalised building retains Aalto’s clever designs in an enhanced, updated form. The voluminous marble foyer rises several storeys with broad windows facing the water – once open only to guests and ticket-holders, today it will function as a public piazza seven days a week. The towering vaulted ceilings in the main concert hall, the height of sophistication when they were constructed in the 1960s, have been retrofitted with state-of-the-art modular elements and enhanced sound absorption. Original door handles, lights and seating, all designed by the architect, remain essential features of the whole.

New to the scheme is a bistro furnished with Aalto’s original furnishings and hung with Finnish art. A wine bar sits on the building’s highest level, with a new viewing terrace offering a city and bay panorama to any passers-by. Tourists will appreciate the new Finlandia Shop, selling local design and crafts, including reissued works by Aalto.

For the first time, the building will accommodate overnight guests. Two apartments at the north end, originally designed by Aalto for hall staff, have been redesigned with kitchens and new bathrooms and appointed with Artek classics. Yet throughout the works, more than 60 per cent of all doors and 70 per cent of windows were retained and adapted. Mouldings were reused as skirting boards, architraves and window-casings.