The School of Media Arts is facing a need for additional facilities, as its body of students is growing by over 200 students. The school currently rents an auxiliary pavilion building, which is insufficient for the growing need. The pavilion is therefore set to be demolished and an existing building, Little Finlandia, is to be permanently transported to Tapulikaupunki. Little Finlandia would be connected to the main building with an access corridor and it would house the school’s kitchen and cafeteria.
Preliminary construction on the plot is planned to begin in autumn 2025 and the transportation effort of the building would begin in January 2026. Little Finlandia would stay in its current place until the end of 2025.
Placement of the annex building on the Moisiontie 3 plot is subject to an exception from the detailed plan.
Alterations and transferability part of original Little Finlandia design
Little Finlandia was originally built as a temporary facility for Finlandia Hall during its renovation. It was designed in accordance with the city’s wood construction and circular economy targets in a way that after the renovation, it could be reused as a school or daycare centre facility, in full or in part. A part of the building will be transferred to the School of Media Arts. Plans are underway to transfer another part to Tali Sports Park, to function as dressing rooms.
– This project will provide us with fantastic experience about how these transferable buildings can be used in public service construction. This way, we are able to provide an additional facility with minor CO2 emissions compared to completely new construction, according to project manager Mari Koskinen.
The project is currently in the phase where its project plan is about to enter the decision-making process. The Buildings and Public Areas Sub-committee is expected to process the project plan on 6 February 2024. Afterwards, the matter will advance to the City Council. In practice, approval of the project plan is a decision on the implementation of the project.
According to the project budget, the construction costs of the annex project are €13,200,000 (VAT 0%) with the November 2024 cost levels.
The Little Finlandia building is owned by the City of Helsinki. Its name, Little Finlandia, is managed by Finlandia Hall, so it may no longer be used of the building after it is transferred.
