VR warehouses [SEP] architect
VR warehouses
The VR warehouses () were a group of redbrick railway warehouses designed by Bruno Granholm in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. They were used by the Finnish State Railways from their construction in 1899 until the 1980s. Their official address was Mannerheimintie 13. The warehouses were badly damaged in a fire on and were subsequently demolished. The Helsinki Music Centre was built on the site of the warehouses.
History.
Due to the way Helsinki had developed with the placement of the Helsinki Central railway station in 1860
Töölönlahti, opposite the Parliament House. The competition was won by the Turku-based LPR Architects, with then 30-year-old architect Marko Kivistö as chief designer.
Prior to the Music Centre, the former VR warehouses stood on the site. Various lively grassroots activities had sprung up around the warehouses, and the Music Centre plan drew voluminous criticism for proposing to tear down spontaneous urban culture and replace it with a costly building for institutionalized classical music. Helsinki City Council approved the Music Centre project in 2002. In 2007 the