Refurbished Tampere City Hall Reopens as Community Hub, Only Mayor and Group CEO Keep Private Offices
After a two-year refurbishment, Tampere's old office building on Keskustori has reopened as a more open, community-focused city hall with a new customer service lobby and public café.
According to Yle, after a two-year refurbishment, Tampere's old office building on Keskustori has reopened as a more open, community-focused city hall. The reopening follows the city's earlier announcement that a new customer service lobby and a public café would open as municipal services move into the building.
Work began in May 2023 and transformed 13,000 square metres of the protected building designed by Aarne Ervi. A new 5,000 square metre wing was added on the Puutarhakatu side. City facilities project manager Petri Saarinen says the aim was to create a living room for residents. The new layout offers 630 shared workstations, about 1,800 seats for working, 45 meeting rooms and more than a hundred quiet or retreat spaces. Only mayor Ilmari Nurminen and group CEO Juha Yli-Rajala retained private offices in the building's older wing.
Heli Turunen, a project manager who joined the effort in 2024, says planners abandoned a phased repair approach after the pandemic emptied offices and they realised the scope of work. The council chamber still features the large Orvokkimeri artwork from 1975, which was cleaned and conserved during the works, and the city is displaying over 100 pieces by nearly 40 artists throughout the new public meeting spaces.
Earlier coverage
Catch the full story over at YLE
