New performance hall planned for Espoo Cultural Centre

The City of Espoo is planning a new performance hall, with the necessary adjacent facilities, for the Espoo Cultural Centre in Tapiola. The hall would be an integral part of the current Cultural Centre, thanks to which the lobby facilities could be used as effectively as possible. The goal is to diversify the Cultural Centre’s operations, use the facilities more efficiently and increase the appeal and accessibility of the Cultural Centre and cultural services. 

The extension would be located next to the Cultural Centre, on the northern edge of Kulttuuriaukio, and would connect to the Cultural Centre via a gallery space. 

The new performance hall will replace Revontulihalli currently used by Espoo City Theatre. A new hall will be needed in the coming years, since Revontulihalli is about to reach the end of its service life.

The new hall will be implemented so that the current operations of the Cultural Centre are secured while the extension work is underway. 

The aim is to bring the more detailed project plan for the Cultural Centre, including the planning and construction schedule and funding programme, to the City Board for processing by late May 2022. 

The longer-term development of the existing Cultural Centre will be initiated. The goal is to renew and renovate the Cultural Centre within ten years. The Cultural Centre opened about 30 years ago.  

Espoo will launch the changes to the town plan required for the Cultural Centre extension. There are grounds for including the development of the Tapiolan Urheilutalo Oy and Kaupinkallion Paikoitustalo Oy plots in the area to be surveyed. 

When the town plan framework for the Cultural Centre extension has been confirmed and the project plan has been approved, the actual planning of the extension will start. 

In 2018, the City held an architecture competition regarding Espoo Cultural Centre, Kulttuuriaukio square and their surroundings. The competition was won by the entry Uusikuu (‘New Moon’), the primary designer of which was Verstas Arkkitehdit Oy. 

Project planning for the Cultural Centre’s renovation and extension was carried out in 2020. It was concluded that the project would be significantly more extensive and expensive than what was specified in the extension and renovation decision of the City Board in 2017. This is why it was seen as necessary to review the project’s continuation potential on new terms. 

The intention is to develop Kulttuuriaukio square as a sufficiently large and harmonious urban space. This will allow for various events to be held. In the future, car traffic will be limited in Kulttuuriaukio.