The City Hall is full of light and simple elegance

News item

5.12.2025 14.01

The new city hall has many new and bright features, but inside the building there are also plenty of familiar elements from the old building, whose surfaces and furnishings have been renovated. The natural light coming in through the windows is complemented by large light fixtures.

Two people are standing on the curved stairs of the high lobby. — – From the lobby of the restaurant, the meeting and training area can be accessed by stairs or a lift, say YIT site engineer Jaakko Sirén and Heli Turunen, the project manager.

Construction started in spring 2023 and ended at the end of November 2025. During this period, the old part on Aleksis Kiven katu was renovated and a completely new part on Puutarhakatu was built. The old name "virastotalo" was dropped during the project. The building is now called "kaupungitalo" (the City Hall): the street level floor will also be available to residents next year.

– Residents will be able to visit the café and restaurant on the first floor on weekdays, and can also book banquet and meeting space for evenings and weekends, explains project manager Heli Turunen.

The city organises evening meetings for residents in the meeting rooms around the restaurant. During the day, the rooms are used as meeting rooms for employees and partners. The restaurant seats about 110 people and the café 30.

The service point offers Nysse and housing services

At the street-level customer service point, you can use the Nysse public transport service, get housing advice, pay bills, deliver mail directly to the registry office or ask about the services offered by the city.

A hall with a sliding door that is slightly ajar. The hall has many small light-colored tables and a large table between the pillars. In the background is a large ceramic artwork. — Ceramic artist Birger Kaipiainen's work "Orvokkimeri" was protected and left on the wall of the Council hall during the construction works. The original oak sliding door still serves as one of the doors to the Council hall.

The city hall is still undergoing minor repairs.

– The building will be furnished with second-hand furniture: desks, chairs and cabinets. The oldest furniture is from Artek and Yrjö Kukkapuro, which will be restored. The 30-seat meeting room in the conference centre will be furnished with Kukkapuro's chairs, says Turunen.

Employees will move in during the spring

Around 950 employees will move into the city hall next spring in stages from the Frenckell property, which has already been sold. There will be around 600 shared workstations in the city hall, and staff will also be able to reserve a variety of retreats, meeting and conference rooms in the building.

A four-storey high glass-paneled partition on the Puutarhakatu side will reduce the heat from the outside. Inside the colourful louvres are sun blinds that can be adjusted by the users themselves.

The original building, designed by Aarne Ervi, has been protected, which means that certain details have been spared. The old building was completed in two parts in 1967 and 1975. The new part was designed by the architect Olivier Lemarchand.

City Hall building project

The renovation and extension started in spring 2023 and the construction was completed at the end of November 2025.
The most energy-efficient systems and equipment have been selected for the building.
The spaces have been made multifunctional and adaptable.
The project was built by Tampereen Tilapalvelut and managed by YIT Rakennus Oy.
The total value of the contract is EUR 49 million.