Aurelia Parish Centre
- Turku
- 2005
Turku City Theatre from 1962 was designed by architects Aarne Hytönen, Risto-Veikko Luukkonen and Helmer Stenros based on their winning entry in an architecture competition in 1956. The architect trio was also in charge of the design of the neighbouring government office building which architecturally links to the theatre building. The buildings form a monumental Modernist cityscape to the East side of the Aura River. Turku City Theatre is one of the prominent Modernist culture buildings that were built in Finland in the post-war decades.
The primary elevation materials of the building are red tile from Turku based Kupittaan Savi factory and patinated copper. The large windows of the 1st floor’s main foyer open to the River Aura. The main mass is formed from the large stage, entrance hall and the main foyer. The four-storey wing building is situated on the east side of the main mass. The main entrance is on the riverside.
LPR Architects, Pauno Narjus as the principal architect, got the assignment to design the renovation and extension for the theatre building. The design work began in 2013. The construction began in 2015 and was completed in autumn 2017.
The extension is subtle and elegant despite its large size. The most prominent part of it is on the side of the Itäinen Rantakatu street. The technical facilities and a prop room are situated on the extension that is rhythmically arranged to the side of Volter Kiven katu. The primary elevation material is Corten steel.