Rovaniemi city hall explained

Rovaniemi city hall
Native Name:Finnish: Rovaniemen kaupungintalo
Native Name Lang:fi
Architectural Style:Modernism
Location City:Rovaniemi
Location Country:Finland
Coordinates:66.4965°N 25.725°W
Destruction Date:-->
Architect:Alvar Aalto
Unit Count:-->

Rovaniemi city hall is the main municipal administrative building of the city of Rovaniemi, Finland.

The building was designed by the renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, and although the design work started in the 1960s as part of the rebuilding of the Rovaniemi city centre, the city hall building was only completed in 1986 after Aalto's death.[1]

The city hall is part of a complex of Aalto-designed public and administrative buildings, commonly referred to as 'Aalto Centre',[2] together with the Lappia Hall arts and conference venue and the Rovaniemi library. The complex has been designated and protected by the Finnish Heritage Agency as a nationally important built cultural environment (Valtakunnallisesti merkittävä rakennettu kulttuuriympäristö).[3] [4]

The building consists of a central block with several connected wings. The key rooms such as the Mayor's office, the City Council assembly hall and committee meeting rooms are positioned centrally by the main entrance. The exterior materials are similar to those on the other Aalto Centre buildings, creating a coherent and unified cluster.

Outside the main entrance to the building is a massive stone sculpture Vuorten Synty ('The Birth of Mountains')[5] by the Finnish sculptor Kain Tapper, completed in 1988. The sculpture is long, and has a maximum height of . It symbolises the rebirth of Rovaniemi following the Lapland War.[6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: History of city halls . Museum of Finnish Architecture . 8 October 2020 . fi.
  2. Web site: Alvar Aalto and the architecture of Rovaniemi . VisitRovaniemi.fi . 8 October 2020.
  3. Web site: Rovaniemen hallinto- ja kulttuurikeskus (Rovaniemi administrative and cultural centre) . RKY.fi . Finnish Heritage Agency . 8 October 2020 . fi.
  4. News: Rovaniemen kaupunki haluaa remontoida kaupungintalon itse – hinta lähes 20 miljoonaa euroa . 8 October 2020 . Yle . 11 December 2019 . fi.
  5. Web site: Rovaniemi . AlvarAalto.fi . Alvar Aalto Foundation . 8 October 2020.
  6. Web site: Vuorten Synty . Rovaniemi.fi . City of Rovaniemi . 6 October 2020 . fi.