Helsinki opens doors to the public

Open House Helsinki takes people into places that are otherwise off limits

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Tomorrow, Thursday 20th, the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA) will be arranging free Open House Helsinki tours in association with the Helsinki Design Week. Guided tours will be arranged to attractions one would not normally get the chance to see.
      These sights include the City Hall quarter on Pohjois-Esplanadi and Helsinki Cathedral Chapel on Hallituskatu, along with many others.
      The Open House idea can be traced back to London and New York, where similar tours have been arranged for many years. In Finland, tours to these places have so far been available only for architects and designers.
     
In general, these places of interest are public premises to which people are unable to gain admittance, as they are occupied by some other activities. For example, TeaK (the Theatre Academy) normally provides education in the fields of theatre, dance, and performance, and having people wandering through gazing at the walls would hardly be practical.
      The City Hall quarter has large inner courtyards, and following the recent removal of city offices a revival plan for this area is under way.
     
During a guided tour, the general public will have an opportunity to see for example the Sandels Cultural Centre on Topeliuksenkatu 2, on the southern side of Töölö Market Square. The glass terraces of this Swedish-language complex face the Market Square and the inner yard of the building.
      At Advertising Agency EGO on Unioninkatu 3, one can see modern meeting and conference premises representing new design concepts.
      Another place of interest for some may be the new Hotel Katajanokka, the former Helsinki Prison, which is protected by the National Board of Antiquities. While the old cells have undergone a thorough transformation, some bridges and walkways and cast iron stairs have been preserved - the sort of thing one can normally see only in jailbird movies.
     
During a walking tour in the South Hermanni district, visitors will see a future residential area, to be built around the intersection of the streets of Hämeentie and Mäkelänkatu.
      At the old railway works in Pasila, modern design meets old-fashioned construction values, as the industrial red brick buildings will be preserved while colourful terrace blocks will be built at the western side of the area.


Links:
  Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA)
  Helsinki.fi
  Open House Helsinki (in Finnish)
  Helsinki Design Week: Open House Helsinki preliminary programme

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