Finlandia Hall

For me, Finland's architecture has always meant Alvar Aalto. As one whose discovery of architecture was through the work of the Modernists such as Le Cobusier, Alto was the humanised face of the modern movement, combining modern materials and scale with beautiful craftsmanship. Though the elegant Jugendstijl buildings of Helsinki caught my eye, we had to go see Aalto's masterpiece, the Finlandia Hall.
 
The Hall itself was built in 1962-71, and the congress wing was added in 1971-75, just a year before Aalto's death. It is located on the edge of Toolonlahti Bay, which reaches into the city, and its gleaming white marble cladding is stunning. Unfortunately it was closed the day we visited, so we did not see the interior.
 
It has not been without its problems, however, with the Carrera marble slabs curling in the extremes of Finnish temperature. They were replaced with thicker slabs in the 1980s, but they too are bending. The acoustics have never been right, with complaints that they muffled the sound, requiring orchestras to play louder and force the music. Finland's solution is to build a new Concert Hall, right next door to Aalto's, which will become a conference centre. The new building, glazed rather than marble-clad, was due to open shortly after our visit.