The renovated Finlandia Hall will be opened to the public in early 2025. A five-year extension has been applied for Väistötila Pikku-Finlandia.
Finlandia Hall’s services will be renewed in Helsinki, when the northern part of the building will be opened to the public after an extensive renovation in early 2025.
Two apartments located in the northern part, which previously served as apartments for the house’s employees and later as meeting rooms, will be opened for tourists.
Today, Tuesday, the renewed wall surface on the roof of Finlandia Hall was presented to the media, from which the new tiles on the highest wall surfaces could be seen up close.
The facade will be covered with Italian Lasa Bianco Nuvolato marble from the Lasa Marmo mine in South Tyrol. It is different in quality from the previously used Carrera marble.
Durability studies have been done on marble, and according to them, the material should last more than 50 years.
The previous tiles were warped. The phenomenon is caused by the wear and tear of the marble.
– It happens with all marbles, but there are big differences in how quickly it happens. This Lasa marble should degrade very slowly, if at all. In that sense, marble is different.
Installation of the new marbles began in June 2022. Finlandia Hall’s completely renovated facade will be ready in spring 2024.
Old wall tiles were sold last year, and according to Tuomi, they have sold well to both private individuals and companies.
Finlandia Hall will open to the public in 2025
Finlandia Hall’s renovation is the largest in its history.
The building technology of the almost 50-year-old building has been renewed, the ventilation, drainage and electrical works, as well as the presentation technology, have been renewed throughout. In addition to the facade repairs, space changes have been made to the building, the cladding and water ceiling have also been renewed.
The energy efficiency of the building and the accessibility of the premises will improve from before. Renovating the listed building has been a big job.
– The task has been tedious and difficult. In principle, everything must look the same as before the repair, even if really big changes are made in building technology and electrical and presentation technology. It is necessary to ensure that the surfaces remain intact and do not break during the modification works, says Tuomi.
The house will also have a larger kitchen underground. Likewise, the new engine room facilities have been built under Mannerheimintie, so they will not be visible. A total of about a thousand additional square meters will be underground.
The public will not be able to enter the renovated premises until the beginning of 2025. The renovation began in February of last year.
At the same time, as a new service, a high-quality bar and restaurant space that can be rented on weekdays will be opened for the private use of event organizers. On weekends, it works as a bistro open to everyone.
The terrace hall, which was last used as a meeting place, will get a new life as a wine cafe and design shop.
We are applying for a continuation for Little Finland
Finlandia-talo has applied for an extension from the city of Helsinki for the popular Pikku-Finlandia, which is under renovation.
There is a demand for the event center, because in 2025 Finland will act as the chairman of the European Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE. The OSCE organization’s 50th anniversary meeting will be held in Helsinki.
We want Pikku-Finlandia to remain as a living room and event center for the townspeople alongside Finlandia Hall.
– This has had more than 120,000 visitors in ten months, so we have asked the city for a five-year extension, says CEO Tolonen.
According to him, the city has given a preliminary green light until 2025.
According to Finlandia Hall, last year was a success for Pikku-Finlandia.
So far, 400 different events have been organized in the space. There have been parties, meetings, international congresses, galas, concerts and public events.
Several exhibitions in the spring
The event center in Pikku-Finlandia is also a free art gallery open to everyone, with changing exhibitions of Finnish artists or Finnish history.