Alvar Aalto's last great civic building, completed in 1971 on the western shore of Töölö Bay. The white Carrara marble cladding has been a maintenance headache in the Finnish climate — the panels have been replaced twice — but the form, with its asymmetric asymmetric cliff-like fan rising above the lake, remains one of Aalto's defining works.
The building reopened in 2024 after a major renovation and now hosts concerts, the Helsinki Music Festival, and frequent guided architecture tours. Even if you do not catch a concert, walk around it and stop at the Café Veranda for an Aalto-designed coffee.