The Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre, Finland’s leading conference venue, has expanded with a new 15,000m² multifunctional hall that blends into the landscape. The hall has been designed for easy conversion between exhibition use and to serve, for example, as a sports arena meeting international standards.
The new hall 7 is well-lit and light in colour. One of the walls is almost entirely made of glass: when necessary, the 1,100 square-metre window allows in natural light, decreasing the need for artificial lighting. With its open, high design, the hall gives a highly spacious impression due to the absence of obstructive pillars. Hall 7, dimensioned to house two football fields meeting international standards, has been designed to host events such as international competitions in various ball games, or an indoor athletics event. The hall can accommodate 7,000 people.
The new multifunctional hall is located on the eastern side of the Exhibition and Convention Centre, adjacent to hall 6. There is no fixed partitioning wall between halls 6 and 7. This means that they can be combined into a single space for as many as 20,000 people. Halls 6 and 7 have a total floor area of 33,000 square metres.
The energy consumption of the new hall is as economical as possible. In accordance with the Exhibition and Convention Centre’s environmental management system, optimal energy consumption has been taken into account in the design process: its heating and air-conditioning both use geothermal technology and radiant heating. Air-conditioning is fully automated and the air supply units are equipped with a heat recovery system.
Investment in the multifunctional hall totals EUR 30 million.
