Project: Media center, renovation and reconstruction
Architect: Kokko-Revell-Riihimäki 1936
Location: Mannerheimintie 22-24, Helsinki
Date: 1998
Size: 5800 m2
Client: City of Helsinki
Published in: Arkkitehti 2/1999, Projektiuutiset 5/1998
Lasipalatsi, Hilkka Högström (toim.), Helsinki,
Lasipalatsin Mediakeskus Oy, 95s., 1999
Links: www.lasipalatsi.fi
Status: Completed

The Lasipalatsi Building was constructed on a temporary basis and designed by a group of young students in 1936. As late as the 1970s the demolition of the building was still seriously considered.

Finally in the 1990s unanimous support was achieved for preserving and refurbishing the Lasipalatsi Building. The repair of the structure, finished in 1998, respects the original structural, functional and ideological ideals of a functionalist building. These include the large, transparent glass surfaces of the facades, the design of the commercial premises allowing customers to pass through, the colour schemes and neon illumination of the facades, the sun blinds over the windows and the original character of the Bio Rex cinema and restaurant premises, as well as the furnishings and overall colour schemes which were an essential aspect of this comprehensive work of construction art.