Finland’s music tradition stretches back thousands of years and remains an integral part of the country’s culture, with many people playing instruments or going to concerts. As far back as 1971, the Alvar Aalto designed Finlandia Hall gave Helsinki a top-class music venue. In recent years, it became clear that more venues were needed. As such, partly at the insistence of the city’s famed Sibelius Academy, a competition was organised for a design for a new music complex to be built in the Töölö Bay district between the Finlandia Hall, the Kiasma Museum and opposite the parliament building. LPR-arkkitehdit won this competition with a design that integrates harmoniously into the surroundings, becoming a kind of keystone in an urban planning ensemble. Much of this 1,704 seater venue is underground and, aside from the main hall, it also has six smaller concert rooms that are more suited to certain styles of music and an array of practice rooms. All these areas are individually insulated from each other and from the outside. As a counterpoint to this acoustic insulation, the building is visually very open, with large glazed walls for the foyer that doubles as a meeting and events venue. At night, this glazed facade becomes a gigantic illuminated window, bringing the building and the city even closer. The seamless integration of the Musik Centre into the urban surrounds is no accident, but the result of the careful placement of the green connecting areas and the lighting, done by Bega, that runs off into the surrounding park, creating a sense of continuity. In parts of the grounds, Bega pole-top luminaires with asymmetrical-flat beam light distribution were installed, while the paths to the Musik Centre are lit with Bega bollards. Downlights illuminate the entrance to the glass foyer, a setting with a special atmosphere dominated by a sizeable staircase. Shielded luminaires are installed in the actual stairs and are supplemented by location luminaires integrated in the border on one side of the stairwell. The flights of stairs to the seven storeys of the building used for Sibelius Academy classrooms and offices are marked by strong colours, with Bega recessed wall luminaires providing the safety lighting. The successful integration of architecture and natural and artificial light has helped make the Musik Centre a harmonious and welcoming space that is an ideal cultural rendezvous for the people of Helsinki.
BegaHennenbusch
D - 58708 Menden
Tel. +49 2373 966-0
Fax +49 2373 966-216
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