History
Due to the way Helsinki had developed with the placement of the Helsinki Central railway station in 1860, a large area of land in the centre of the city was bought for use as a railyard by the state railways in 1870. The oldest parts of the warehouses were designed by Bruno Granholm and built in 1898–1899, when they served as the cargo terminal for the Helsinki Central railway station. The warehouses were extended in 1908 and 1917, with the most recent additions being from the 1950s. They were used by the state railways as cargo warehouses until the 1980s, when they were abandoned and gradually fell into disrepair. The warehouses were without a permanent specific purpose but could be rented by anyone wishing to organize some sort of public event.
During the 1900s, there had been numerous plans to integrate the area within the city plan, including master plans by architects Eliel Saarinen and Alvar Aalto, none of which were realised. A number of key public buildings ended up being built around the edge of the yards, including the Parliament building, the Finlandia Hall concert hall and the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art.
As the state railways had decreasing need of the railway yard, it became to be regarded as a waste ground, and the City of Helsinki began to promote new uses for the site, and in 1985 held an architecture-city planning competition for the area. The results again proved inconclusive and the area was since developed piecemeal. In a stage II plan for an extension to Kiasma, American architect Steven Holl proposed a park-feature spreading directly north from his own building and cutting directly through the warehouses. The idea plan was never taken any further.
The warehouses included a couple of ecological shops and band rehearsal studios. They were also a popular location for regular flea markets. Various music concerts, including the Tuska heavy metal festival in 1999 and 2000 and the Jyrki Video Awards in 2001–2003 were often held at the warehouses. In 2004 and 2005 they hosted Perv Park, Helsinki's biggest BDSM convention.
By the mid-2000s, the warehouses had been under a threat of demolition for almost a decade to make way for a new Helsinki Music Centre concert hall. In early 2006, a decision was finally made to construct the Music Hall on the site, preserving only a small section of the warehouses for use as a pavilion-type cafe within the park surrounding the concert hall.
Read more about this topic: VR Warehouses
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