Rovaniemen hallinto- ja kulttuurikeskus

English translation (from the Finnish)

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Description

The administrative and cultural centre of Rovaniemi, which consists of the Lapin lääninhallitus building group, the state and city office buildings, and the Rovaniemi library and theatre, is exceptional in its genre in our country and significant for the townscape. The centre, which emphasises Rovaniemi's position as the administrative and cultural centre of Lapland and was implemented in stages, is based on architect Alvar Aalto's overall plan. The Rovaniemi cultural and administrative centre is one of three similar centres designed by Aalto in Finland and, alongside Seinäjoki, the only one to have been completed.

Along Hallituskatu, on the bank of Ounaskoski, stand in a continuous row the Lapin lääninhallitus office building from the reconstruction phase of Rovaniemi and the residential apartment blocks associated with it, which together form a unified ensemble of the post-functionalist-style reconstruction period. The temporal layering continues with the town hall and cultural buildings designed by Alvar Aalto, which form one of the most significant composite ensembles of our more recent architecture.

Between the library, Lappia-talo and the town hall lies a rectangular park area, bounded on three sides, which in front of the town hall is the kansalaistori. In the exterior of the library building, the fan-shaped hall on the park side is emphasised. Lappia-talo, which houses the premises of the Rovaniemen kaupunginteatteri as well as congress and concert halls, has a versatility of spaces that is reflected in the building's exterior and in its plan. The main part of the building is the theatre with its ancillary spaces. The halls are emphasised by a fan-shaped curved plan and by the building's exterior. The hierarchy of the town hall's spaces is clearly reflected in the building's exterior. The administrative wing is on the Hallituskatu side.

The Lapin lääninhallitus block between Valtakatu and Ounaskoski, significant for the townscape, is within the area of the 1947 town plan drawn up by architect Alvar Aalto. Completed in 1947-1948 after the Second World War, the building complex comprises the Lapin lääninhallitus office building, three three-storey residential apartment blocks, and a two-storey terraced house which housed the governor's official residence and reception rooms. The plot also contains the former office building of the Kemijoen uittoyhdistys from 1937, one of the few buildings in Rovaniemi surviving from the Lapland War.

History

Lapland Province was established in 1938. The first building of the Lapland Provincial Government, built before the war, stood 50-100 m north-west of its present site. It was destroyed in the Lapland War in the final phases of the Second World War. The general and detailed plan guiding the post-war reconstruction of Rovaniemi, the so-called Poronsarvikaava, was drawn up in 1945 by architect Alvar Aalto. The buildings of the Provincial Government were designed as official work at the Building Board, and the buildings of the block were completed in 1947-1949.

The administrative and cultural centre designed by Alvar Aalto for Rovaniemi was built in three phases in the 1960s–1980s. A decision in principle to build a library building was made at the same time as Rovaniemi market town was resolved to become a town in 1960. Aalto, who was asked to design the library and theatre building the same year, proposed in connection with the library plan that a unified area be reserved for the Town Hall, the library and the theatre. The Rovaniemi Library was the first to be completed, in 1965. Lappia-talo was built in 1972-1976. The Rovaniemi Town Hall was the last to be completed, in 1986.