The Itäkeskus Swimming Hall is a refreshment centre for the whole family, which serves up to 350,000 residents every year. First opened in 1993, the swimming hall includes three pools, one jacuzzi, one cold pool, water slides, five traditional saunas and a steam bath. For the price of admission, customers also have access to gyms with high-quality and modern gym equipment. The pools are equipped with new virtual devices for independent water aerobics and independent swimming school at the children’s pool. In addition to being a hall for refreshment and exercise, it can also double as a population shelter for the residents of the area.
“A renovation fo a building of this age focuses on repairing much of the technical equipment, such as water processing, ventilation, insulation and acoustics. While the project does not involve new construction or significant changes to the facility, it is possible to review the use of the space and to restructure some of the pool areas, changing rooms and saunas. The Itäkeskus swimming hall one of the most popular sports facilities in Helsinki, and its customers give us a great deal of feedback on its services. Changes to the facility make it possible to develop the customer experience in a more holistic manner, which is why we hope to involve the customers and city residents, find out their thoughts and ideas on even better services,” says Ville Laukkanen, Itäkeskus Swimming Hall Team Manager.
In August, the co-development will continue with an open online survey and a brainstorming oasis, held in the swimming hall. With the results of the co-development, we will develop the swimming hall’s customer service concept further and create facility and signage concepts to support the planning of the renovation. For the co-development stages, the City of Helsinki has partnered with design agency Pentagon Design Oy.
Estimated renovation schedule
• Co-development stage 4/2024–10/2024
• Project planning 08/2024–09/2025
• Implementation planning 10/2025–04/2027
• Beginning of construction 05/2027
• Estimated reopening of the swimming hall 01/2030