News 17.3.2017

Dance House will be built in the north-east end of the Cable Factory – courtyard will be covered

Long-awaited Dance House will be built in the north-east end of the Cable Factory – courtyard will also be covered

The Dance House Helsinki has been planned for a long time, and now the time has come: the house will be built in the north-east end of the cultural centre Cable Factory. At the same time, the courtyard will be covered with a roof. The construction of the approximately EUR 35 million project is planned to start in the summer of 2018, and is scheduled for completion in 2020.

A project plan for the Dance House was completed in February, and it was announced at the Cable Factory on Thursday 16th of March 2017. The property management company Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo is responsible for the building project, while the Dance House Association is responsible for the practical work at the Dance House. The project plan has been drawn up since early 2016, and both dancers and tenants at the Cable Factory have had their say in the process. The input of technical experts has also been significant.

- The project plan has been made with functionality in mind. We wanted to make sure that the house will become a meeting place and a hub for all kinds of dance forms. We have spent a lot of time in planning various functions and logistics, says Hanna-Mari Peltomäki, the executive director of Dance House Association.

The house consists of 5,290 square meters of new building and an old part in the former cable factory building that amounts to 1,550 square meters and will be refurbished. The new part will house a big stage for 700 spectators, a side stage, a rehearsal room and other spaces. The old Pannuhalli basement will become a small stage for Dance House, and the factory will most likely also house a restaurant. All in all, Dance House will bring about a significant change in Cable Factory.

- This change is a huge opportunity. When we were planning the project, our motto was to create the best possible Dance House and to make Cable Factory even better than before. For this reason, we wanted to interview all the long-term tenants last summer. These interviews have then served as a guideline in the project planning – in addition to interviews with active dancers. We got a lot of ideas that we have tried to implement in the project plan, says Kai Huotari, the CEO for Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo.

In addition, the new Dance House means that the courtyard in Cable Factory will be covered, which allows it to be used in cultural events and activities. The eastern half is covered so that it will become a warm space, and it will become a common lounge for artists and stakeholders at the Cable Factory. The western end will be covered for rain. This will move the entire logistics of the cultural centre from the courtyard to the periphery of the building, which improves the space in the courtyard and also eliminates any problems caused by pedestrians and vehicles. To facilitate this change, two ramps have been built in the west end of the building with access to the basement.

- The new building will be built in Kaapelipuisto, and a completely new park area will be planned in the public parking space next to Cable Factory. The new park will be as big as the old one, and it will become a place for culture and art so that various events can be arranged in the park, says city planner Jari Huhtaniemi from the City Planning Department.

The actual planning of the project, as well as the amendment of the detailed plan, started in the spring of 2017. Neighbours, dancers and tenants at the Cable Factory were invited to participate in this process. The aim is to decide on the architecture before summer, to ratify the new plan in the early 2018 and to start construction in the summer of 2018.

Dance House Helsinki is designed to be completed in 2020. The project’s chief architect is Teemu Kurkela from JKMM Architects and the resbonsible building designer is Pia Ilonen from Architecture & Design Talli Oy. The construction consultant is Haahtela-rakennuttaminen Oy.

Dance House has a budget of EUR 34.8 million. EUR 15 million funding comes from Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, EUR 6 million from the City of Helsinki, EUR 6 million from the Finnish state and the remaining EUR 7.8 million from the property management company Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo.

Additional information:
CEO Kai Huotari, Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo, kai.huotari@kaapelitehdas.fi, tel. 050 3841557