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Finlandia Hall

Address: Mannerheimintie 13e, 00100 Helsinki, Suomi Open Google map

Entrance fee: 11 € - 16 € / person

Tours: Guided tours are arranged in collaboration with Alvar Aalto Foundation. Tours last around an hour. The Art and Backstage tour provides access to those Finlandia Hall facilities that ordinary guided tours do not cover. The tour provides a chance to see and learn more about Finlandia Hall’s works of art. The works have been borrowed from the Helsinki Art Museum. The tours are held in English and, if necessary, partly in Finnish. Contact the Service Point for details on upcoming tours via email servicepoint@finlandiatalo.fi

Themes: Cultural buildings, Music, Restaurants, Town plans

Website: Finlandia Hall

Finlandia Hall was completed in Helsinki’s city centre in 1971 and the extra wing in 1975. The building was intended for congresses and concerts.

The location of Finlandia Hall is part of the plan for Helsinki’s city centre that Aalto made in the 1960s. The building was intended to be one of a cluster of cultural building around Töölö Bay. In the unrealised plan the main traffic artery into Helsinki was on the opposite side of the Bay. The building’s main façade faces in that direction.

Aalto wanted the interior and exterior marble facings to create a link with the culture of the Mediterranean countries. The details of the furnishings, including the furniture and light fittings, were carefully designed to create an integrated whole.

In 1962 the Helsinki city authorities commissioned Aalto to design a concert and congress building as the first part of his great centre plan. The Finlandia Hall was completed nine years later. Even the earliest plans show the main characteristics of the final solution. One of the most conspicuous alterations involved the chamber music room, originally intended to soar like the main auditorium above the main building mass.

The Finlandia Hall was adapted strictly to Aalto’s centre plan, with its main (eastern) facade turned towards the projected Terrace Square and the car entrance on the bottom level, intended to continue in the form of a tunnel to other cultural buildings along the shore of Töölö Bay. At this level each section’s own access stair can be reached by car. The next storey, or entrance level, with doors opening directly into Hesperia Park, is dominated by the entrance hall, and also contains cloakrooms and other service space.

A broad staircase leads up to the foyers with entrances to the large and small auditorium, the restaurant, etc. Smaller staircases (one of which forms a visible exterior motif in the east facade) lead from the main foyer to the gallery-like balcony foyer and the doors to the main auditorium’s balcony. Principally responsible for the design of the interiors at Finlandia Hall were the interior designer Pirkko Söderman and the architect Elissa Aalto.

The small chamber music room, which has adjustable, shield-shaped acoustic screens attached to the ceiling, seats 350 people; the main auditorium seats 1,750.

The Finlandia Hall was inaugurated in December 1971. Planning of a congress section began even before the main wing was completed; the congress wing was ready for use as early as 1975. The idea was to improve the working conditions for conferences, an important aspect of the building’s use.

The congress wing, linked to the south end of the main building, contains a large foyer in addition to conference rooms and halls of various sizes. The west facade of the wing has large windows and rounded, concave hollows to make space for some of the old trees growing on the site – and to enliven the facade.

The white Carrara marble was used as the façade material on Finlandia Hall. Photo: Rune Snellman, Alvar Aalto Museum

The details of the Main Auditorium of Finlandia Hall were carefully thought out. Photo: Maija Holma, Alvar Aalto Foundation

The location of Finlandia Hall is part of the plan for Helsinki’s city centre that Aalto made in the 1960s. The building was intended to be one of a cluster of cultural building around Töölö Bay.
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The west facade of the wing has large windows and rounded, concave hollows to make space for some of the old trees growing on the site – and to enliven the facade. Photo: Maija Holma, Alvar Aalto Foundation
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Elevation towards Töölö Bay. Photo: Maija Holma, Alvar Aalto Foundation
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The architectural idea of the asymmetric, fan-shaped concert hall and its acoustics were studied carefully. Photo: Maija Holma, Alvar Aalto Foundation
The café’s services mainly feature unique food products from Finnish producers. Photo: Finlandia Hall
The café’s services mainly feature unique food products from Finnish producers. Photo: Finlandia Hall
New FINLANDIA CAFÉ has a completely unique atmosphere and it is decorated with previously hidden original Aalto furniture. Photo: Finlandia Hall
New FINLANDIA CAFÉ has a completely unique atmosphere and it is decorated with previously hidden original Aalto furniture. Photo: Finlandia Hall

Information for visitors

Good to know

Finlandia Hall

Finlandia Hall is located very close to the city centre of Helsinki on Mannerheimintie 13e. You can reach the building by using public transport in Helsinki.

You can visit the Finlandia Hall on a guided tour for groups, or enjoy the architecture while participating to other events organised in the premises of the house. There is also a cafeteria and a gallery open for public.

New FINLANDIA CAFÉ has a completely unique atmosphere and it is decorated with previously hidden original Aalto furniture.  The café’s services mainly feature unique food products from Finnish producers. FINLANDIA CAFÉ and Gallery Veranda are open on Monday to Friday from 9 to 18 o’clock and two hours before concerts.

Read more about Finlandia Hall

Take a virtual tour of the Finlandia Hall and a few other buildings in Finland designed by Alvar Aalto by visiting this link.

Guided tours

Guided tours are arranged in collaboration with Alvar Aalto Foundation. Tours last around an hour. The Art and Backstage tour provides access to those Finlandia Hall facilities that ordinary guided tours do not cover. The tour provides a chance to see and learn more about Finlandia Hall’s works of art. The works have been borrowed from the Helsinki Art Museum. The tours are held in English and, if necessary, partly in Finnish. Contact the Service Point for details on upcoming tours via email servicepoint@finlandiatalo.fi

Further information

The address:

Finlandia Hall
Mannerheimintie 13 e,
00100 Helsinki, Finland
Tel. +358 9 40241