A young European capital ripe in architecture, Helsinki is the third largest Nordic city and has one of the highest standards of living in the world. Its original architectural history was largely shaped by early neoclassical architecture and a regional form of art nouveau called Jugendstil. But its the later work of modernist architect Alvar Aalto that the city (and country) is most known for, as well as its thriving contemporary work deeply rooted in nature and local craft.
Check out Helsinki’s #mustseearchitecture below:
Contemporary Architecture
Oodi Helsinki Library
Practical Information
Architect: ALA Architects
Built: 2019
Type: Library
Address: Töölönlahdenkatu 4, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Weekdays, 8:00 am – 10:00 pm; Weekends, 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Website: www.oodihelsinki.fi/
Amos Rex
Practical Information
Architect: JKMM Architects
Built: 2018
Type: Art Museum
Address: Mannerheimintie 22-24, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Varies, refer to
Cost: € 18
Website:www.amosrex.fi/en/
Museum of Contemporary Art
The Museum of Contemporary Art is surrounded by some of Helsinki’s most important architecture. With the Finnish National Parliament to the west, Alvar Aalto’s Finlandia Hall to the south, and Eliel Saarinen’s Central Train Station to the east, the design of the building was intended to strategically intersect these spaces and outwardly project a new architecture and views of the city within it.
Practical Information
Architect: Steven Holl
Built: 1998
Style: Deconstructivism, Postmodern
Type: Museum
Address: Mannerheiminaukio 2, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Monday to Friday: 8:00am – 8:00pm, Saturday: 11:00am – 5:00pm
Helsinki University Library
Helsinki University is a cluster of old buildings wrapped around the city’s noted Senate Square. The purpose of the new building was to centralize five of the university’s smaller libraries into one large new space that would become a gateway into the new information age for the institution. The design of the library takes that a symbolic approach to that notion by carving out new glass arches into a traditional brick facade.
Practical Information
Architect: Anttinen Oiva Architects
Built: 2012
Type: Library
Address: Kaisaniemenkatu 5, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Daily (8:00am – 6:00pm)
Website: www.helsinki.fi/kirjasto/fi/toimipaikat/paakirjasto/
Löyly
Löyly is a new floating public sauna in the former industrial area of Hernesaari. This wooden landscape was built to promote new public space in the upcoming residential neighborhood currently under construction as a way for citizens to re-engage with the Helsinki waterfront. The design is characterized by a number of free-form wood triangular faces.
Practical Information
Architect: Avanto Architects
Built: 2017
Type: Sauna
Address: Hernesaarenranta 4, 00150 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Monday to Thursday: 4:00pm to 2:00am, Friday: 1:00pm to 2:00am, Sunday: 1:00pm – 9:00om
Website: maunulatalo.fi
Kupla Lookout
Built with over 72 preformed timber pieces, this 10-m tall lookout tower has some pretty magnificent views overlooking the water and city. The design was inspired by its natural setting and is located at the Helsinki Zoo.
Practical Information
Architect: Avanto Architects
Built: 2002
Type: Lookout Tower
Address: Korkeasaari, Helskini
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Summer: 10:00am – 8:00pm
Cost: € 12
Website: www.korkeasaari.fi/helsinki-zoo/
Viikki Church
The newest church in Helsinki, this design is most noted for its use of spruce in its ceilings and columns. The exterior cladding is built out of 2 layers of aspen shingling.
Practical Information
Architect: JKMM Architects
Built: 2005
Type: Church
Address: Agronominkatu 5, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Website: www.helsinginseurakunnat.fi/viikinkirkko.html.stx
House of Culture
Completed in 1955, the House of Culture is one of Helsinki’s preeminent convert venues. Characterized by its curved brick auditorium and copper office block, the two buildings are linked together by a long, thin canopy that connects them.
Practical Information
Architect: Alvar Aalto
Built: 1955
Type: Concert Hall
Address: Kulttuuritalo, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
OP Headquarters
Characterized by its angular glass and stone facade, this new office building has some incredible interior gathering spaces that are “carved” out of the buildings core and offer views to the outside.
Practical Information
Architect: JKMM Architects
Built: 2015
Type: Office
Address: 1 Teollisuuskatu 1, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Temppeliaukio Church
One of the more unique and dramatic pieces of architecture in Helsinki, the Temmepliaukio Church is built directly into solid rock. Light fills the space through a circular glass skylight that is centered by a copper dome. Over half a million people visit this church every year.
Practical Information
Architect: Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen
Built: 1969
Type: Church
Address: Lutherinkatu 3, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Kamppi Chapel
Built in 2012, the Kamppi Chapel offers refuge and quiet reflection from its bustling location at Narinkka square in central Helsinki. The design is characterized by its curved wood facade with warm lighting that floods its interior walls.
Practical Information
Architect: K2S Architects Ltd.
Built: 2012
Type: Church
Address: Simonkatu 7, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
West Terminal 2
Built on a narrow plot of reclaimed industrial land, the West Terminal 2 was built to facilitate the travel of around 7 million people who travel between Helsinki and Tallinn annually. The design is inspired by a sea creature washed ashore .
Practical Information
Architect: PES-Architects
Built: 2017
Type: Ferry Terminal
Address: Tyynenmerenkatu 14, 00180 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: : Daily: 6:00 to 11:00pm (9:00pm on Tuesday)
Modern Architecture
Finlandia Hall
An event space in the middle of Helsinki, the Finlandia Hall is designed by Alvar Aalto and most known for its iconic white tower that provides a superior acoustic quality for the concert hall below it. Unlike other iconic buildings of its time that were built out of a darker, local granite, Finlandia Hall was constructed out of white marble that Aalto sourced from the Mediterranean.
Practical Information
Architect: Alvar Aalto
Built: 1971
Type: Concert Hall
Address: Mannerheimintie 13e, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Monday to Friday: 9:00am – 7:00pm
Cost: € 15
Historic Architecture
National Museum
A significant example of Finnish National Romantic Style, the National Museum is best known for its ceiling frescoes, inspired by the national epic Kalevala. The building itself is characterized by its entry tower detailed with grey stone, red brick, and copper roof.
Practical Information
Architect: Armas Lindgren, Herman Gesellius, Eliel Saarinen
Built: 1916
Style: National Romantic
Type: Museum
Address: Mannerheimintie 34, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Daily (11:00am – 6:00pm, 8pm on Wednesdays)
Website: www.museovirasto.fi/fi/
Helsinki Central Station
Widely considered one of the most beautiful railway stations in the world, this building designed by noted Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, is noted for its use of Finnish granite and beautiful clock tower with intricate copper detailing. In 1950, the clock tower was significantly damaged in a fire.
Practical Information
Architect: Eliel Saarinen
Built: 1916
Style: Art Nouveau
Type: Train Station
Address: Kaivokatu 1, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Helsinki Cathedral
Constructed over 22 years, this landmark building is located at the peak of Senate Square in downtown Helsinki and sits as a tribute to Tsar Nicholas I who’s statue stands at its feet. The church is planned around a greek ross oriented in the four cardinal directions and characterized by its use of columns and 3 copper domes.
Practical Information
Architect: Carl Ludvig Engel, Ernst Lohrmann
Built: 1852
Style: Neoclassical
Type: Religious
Address: Unioninkatu 29, 00170 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Website: www.helsinginseurakunnat.fi/
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Architect: JKMM Architects
Built: 2018
Type: Art Museum
Address: Mannerheimintie 22-24, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Varies, refer to website
Cost: € 18
Website: www.amosrex.fi/en/
Architect: ALA Architects
Built: 2019
Type: Library
Address: Töölönlahdenkatu 4, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Weekdays, 8:00 am - 10:00 pm; Weekends, 10:00 am - 8:00 pm
Website: www.oodihelsinki.fi/
Architect: Avanto Architects
Built: 2002
Type: Lookout Tower
Address: Korkeasaari, Helskini
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Summer: 10:00am - 8:00pm
Cost: € 12
Website: www.kiasma.fi
Architect: JKMM Architects
Built: 2005
Type: Church
Address: Agronominkatu 5, 00790 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Website: www.helsinginseurakunnat.fi/viikinkirkko.html.stx
Architect: Armas Lindgren, Herman Gesellius, Eliel Saarinen
Built: 1916
Style: National Romantic
Type: Museum
Address: Mannerheimintie 34, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Daily (11:00am - 6:00pm, 8pm on Wednesdays)
Website: www.museovirasto.fi/fi/
Architect: Eliel Saarinen
Built: 1916
Style: Art Nouveau
Type: Train Station
Address: Kaivokatu 1, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Architect: Carl Ludvig Engel, Ernst Lohrmann
Built: 1852
Style: Neoclassical
Type: Religious
Address: Unioninkatu 29, 00170 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Website: www.helsinginseurakunnat.fi/
Architect: K2S Architects Ltd.
Built: 2012
Type: Church
Address: Simonkatu 7, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Architect: Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen
Built: 1969
Type: Church
Address: Lutherinkatu 3, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Architect: JKMM Architects
Built: 2015
Type: Office
Address: 1 Teollisuuskatu 1, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Architect: Alvar Aalto
Built: 1955
Type: Concert Hall
Address: Kulttuuritalo, 00101 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Architect: K2S Architects
Built: 2017
Type: Sauna
Address: Hernesaarenranta 4, 00150 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Monday to Thursday: 4:00pm to 2:00am, Friday: 1:00pm to 2:00am, Sunday: 1:00pm - 9:00om
Website: maunulatalo.fi
Architect: Anttinen Oiva Architects
Built: 2012
Type: Library
Address: Kaisaniemenkatu 5, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Tuesday: 10:00am - 5:00pm, Wednesday to Friday: 10:00am - 8:30pm, Saturday: 10:00am - 6:00pm, Sunday: 10:00am - 5:00pm,
Cost: € 14 (approx. $15 US). Free on the first Friday of the month
Website: www.kiasma.fi
Architect: Steven Holl
Built: 1998
Type: Museum
Address: Mannerheiminaukio 2, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Monday to Friday: 8:00am - 8:00pm, Saturday: 11:00am - 5:00pm
Architect: Alvar Aalto
Built: 1971
Type: Concert Hall
Address: Mannerheimintie 13e, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Open to the Public: Yes
Hours: Monday to Friday: 9:00am - 7:00pm
Cost: € 15 (approx. $17 US)