The New Building

a architect(s)
18 Firm LPR-arkkitehdit Oy
19 Project Architect Marko Kivistö
20 Type of project new building
b aims of the new building
21 Short description of the main objectives and purposes of the project The Music Centre is a part of the Töölönlahti (Töölö Bay) area in Helsinki in front of the Finnish Parliament building. The Music Centre, Kiasma and the future City Library offer the possibility for the forming of an active and urban cultural centre, where different forms of art complement each other and where it is easy for consumers of culture to try new things and expand their horizons.

The Music Centre offers concert and rehearsal facilities for the Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Sibelius Academy. The music university, two orchestras and the central location offer magnificent possibilities for the meeting and interaction of music listeners, musicians, students of music and the city residents.

The objective of the creators of the Music Centre was to defragment and harmonise the landscape of the Töölönlahti area in Helsinki. The Music Centre is linked to its environment with the two sides of its main body aligned with Finlandia Hall and the Parliament building and the height of the building being in level with the canopy of trees in the Karamzin Park. The green deck of the lower part of the Music Centre descends to the south, continuing as an ascending grass field to the front of Kiasma.

The client wanted the plan to support openness. The foyer opens up via the glass walls toward the park, the venue plaza and the city centre, and connects with the new architecture of the neighbouring buildings. The foyer is open to the public.

The core of the Music Centre, the 1704-seat vineyard-formed concert hall is entered through the surrounding foyer, to which the hall is visually connected through soundproof glass-walls.
c special features
22 Site The Music Library is situated inside the Music Centre near the Finnish Parliament House and near Kiasma, the Museum of Modern Art.
23 Architecture The Centre holds also five smaller music halls for 140 to 400 people. The acoustic features are designed to suit the special purpose of each hall - organ music, chamber music, vocal music and electronically amplified music or musical theatre.

The rehearsal and office spaces of the Sibelius Academy are grouped on seven floors around the courtyard opening toward the Karamzin Park. The two bottom floors house the studios and a music library.

The main material inside the hall, the foyer and the lobby is dark stained and lacquered solid wood animated by the surface texture designed to support the acoustics. The interior cladding elements of the five smaller halls are CNC-cut to individual shapes. The interiors are complemented by materials such as the stainless and powder coated steel and aluminium, backlit translucent plastic fixed furniture, epoxy floors and glass fibre mesh lining as well as strong emphasis colours in specific places and the refreshing design of the furniture. The point-fixed glass facades of the foyer are suspended lightly using latest technical expertise.

The requirement for successful acoustics has governed all levels of design. The concert and rehearsal halls are separated from the rest of the building by expansion joints and the halls rest on anti-vibration spring dampers. The wall cladding hides a great deal of acoustic-related design and work.

The framework is mainly reinforced concrete cast-in-place, complemented by steel structures. The point-fixed glass facade of the foyer with its glass roof sections is suspended from the top and backed up with glass supports and steel tension rods.

Regarding the outdoor lighting, the Music Centre manifests itself aesthetically in the cityscape in a subtle and modest way. The lighting in the halls supports the musical experience and can be transformed for various moods.