Säynätsalo Town Hall

Yleistä tietoa

Säynätsalo town hall, designed by Alvar Aalto, represents Aalto’s architecture at its best. A contest for the design of the new Säynätsalo town hall was held in 1949, after which Aalto’s winning proposal ‘Curia’ began construction and was finished in 1951. The town hall marks the beginning of a new era in Alvar Aalto’s designs, most significantly marked by the use of red brick.

Säynätsalo town hall had many functions; the local council worked there, and the building also hosts the Säynätsalo library that is still operating today. The building also has residential spaces, guest rooms and meeting facilities. Though the building is meant to be used by ordinary people, Alvar Aalto wanted the design to have a sense of hierarchy and authority to highlight the administrative purposes of the town hall. This is best showcased by the location of the council chamber in the highest point of the building.

The local council operated in the building until 1993, when the municipality of Säynätsalo merged with the city of Jyväskylä. The town hall became property of Jyväskylä, and the administrative tasks were also relocated to the Jyväskylä city council. The town hall was protected by the building preservation law in 1994, and in the following year a three-year-project to repair moisture damages in the building commenced. The repairs mainly focused on the interior of the building, and great care was taken to ensure the original materials and were preserved wherever possible. Thanks to this the building still carries its original atmosphere, and the patina of time can be seen both in the exterior and the interior.

Today at the town hall you can visit the Säynätsalo library or book guided tours to learn more about the history and architectural details of the building. The meeting facilities and the council chamber are available for business customers, and the guests rooms can be rented for both short or long term stay. Many events, exhibitions and workshop also take place at the town hall, and the town hall shop sells Aalto and Artek products and refreshments.

///

Visit our other social media sites

Instragram:
https://www.instagram.com/harri.taskinen/

Our blog:
https://aaltoinfo.com/