Kulttuuritalo

60°11′18″N 024°56′39″E / 60.18833°N 24.94417°E / 60.18833; 24.94417Current tenantsSodexoConstruction started1955Completed1958OwnerHelsingin Kulttuurihub OyDesign and constructionArchitect(s)Alvar AaltoOther informationSeating capacity1452 + 2Websitehttps://www.kulttuuritalo.fi/en/home/

Kulttuuritalo (Finnish: Kulttuuritalo, Swedish: Kulturhuset) is a building in Alppila, Helsinki, Finland. The building was designed by Alvar Aalto, and is considered to be one of his main works.

The building

The building combines a concert hall, an office building and a lecture-theatre block connecting the two. Uniting the whole, along the street frontage, is a 60-metre (200 ft) canopy.^[1]

History

Kulttuuritalo was originally built for Finnish Communist cultural organizations. Aalto designed the building pro bono and was given complete artistic freedom; the construction work was done largely by volunteers. Work began in 1955, and the building was opened in 1958.

The building was owned by the Communist Party by a nonprofit foundation until the 1990, when the bankruptcy of the Finnish Communist Party forced its sale.

Today its owned by the government owned Senate Properties. The building is protected by a decision made by the Finnish Council of State in 1989.

Notable artists who have played at the venue^[2] include:

• Duke Ellington in 1961, 1963^[3], and 1964
• Ella Fitzgerald in 1963, 1964, and 1965
• Jimi Hendrix in 1967
• Cream in 1967
• Led Zeppelin^[4] in 1970
• Jethro Tull in 1970, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2006, 2009, 2022, and 2023
• Status Quo in 1973, 1974, 1996, and 2017
• Frank Zappa in 1974 (Three concerts in September 1974, portions of which were released on You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 in 1988)
• Queen in 1974
• AC/DC in 1977
• Ramones in 1977 and 1990
• Tina Turner in 1982
• Metallica in 1984
• Hanoi Rocks in 1985
• Leonard Cohen in 1985
• Johnny Winter in 1987
• Iron Maiden in 1995
• Lady Gaga in 2009
• Stratovarius in 2010
• Helloween in 2010

References

Further reading

• Karl Fleig, Alvar Aalto, (1974), ISBN 0-275-49660-0, p33. interior photo of auditorium, p32. exterior photo of entry canopy, p31.
• Peter Gossel and Gabrile Leuthauser, Architecture in the Twentieth Century, (1991), ISBN 3-8228-0550-5, exterior photo of wall, p243.
• Malcolm Quantrill, Alvar Aalto: A Critical Study, (1983), ISBN 0-8052-3845-X, exterior color photo of roof and brick detail, fig VIII.

External links

• Media related to Helsinki Hall of Culture at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website