The place sauna meets structure: Helsinki’s historic Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall reopens

Hidden inside a city-centre block and cherished by generations of bathers, Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall will reopen to the general public on 2 February 2026 following a complete renovation. Opened in 1928, it is likely one of the oldest indoor swimming halls within the Nordics and a dwelling piece of Helsinki’s bathing heritage.

While sauna tradition has lately gained worldwide reputation, it has been central to Finnish life for hundreds of years. In Helsinki, this custom developed right into a spa tradition within the 19^th century, when the town grew to become recognized for its seaside baths and well being resorts. Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall continues this story as Finland’s first indoor swimming corridor designed for year-round bathing, train, and rest — and at the moment stays one of many metropolis’s best-kept secrets and techniques.

Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall is deeply beloved by the individuals of Helsinki. That grew to become clear within the suggestions we obtained in the course of the renovation planning. The message was easy: don’t change its soul. Preserve the ambiance and character that make it so particular, says Paavo Arhinmäki, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Leisure of the City of Helsinki.

Architecture of calm: Nordic Classicism meets Art Deco

Architecturally, Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall represents Nordic Classicism enriched with Art Deco influences. Designed by architect Väinö Vähäkallio and constructed by contractor Jalo N. Syvähuoko, the constructing stands aside from Vähäkallio’s extra business and industrial works by means of its refined interiors and technically formidable construction. Constructed inside a dense city-centre block on a compact web site, the swimming corridor was an particularly demanding engineering challenge for its time.

The floor ground homes a big swimming pool, washing amenities, and saunas, forming the corridor’s purposeful core. On the second ground, there are non-public rest cubicles, and guests can look down onto the pool from café tables. Here, the expertise turns into extra spa-like, with a number of totally different saunas, together with a conventional wood-fired sauna and a steam sauna. A smaller pool and group train amenities full the ensemble.

When it opened, Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall was way over only a place to swim. In the Twenties and Thirties, guests might have their sneakers polished, garments pressed, and hair styled earlier than heading immediately from the sauna to a dance faculty or restaurant — a real centre of city leisure.

Renovation with respect for heritage

Throughout the renovation, the swimming corridor was handled as if it have been a protected constructing. The challenge was carried out in shut cooperation with the City of Helsinki’s cultural setting and constructing conservation specialists, with the purpose of safeguarding its historic, architectural, and cultural values.

The historic pool corridor interiors are of outstanding architectural significance and are additionally technically distinctive, with the swimming swimming pools stacked vertically—a uncommon answer on the time of building. The renovation centered on preserving the unique look and proportions of the areas whereas enhancing accessibility and upgrading constructing companies to satisfy fashionable requirements and environmental targets. In line with public suggestions, adjustments have been saved intentionally minimal, with essentially the most seen updates restricted to the lifeguards’ management space and the ticket workplace.

– Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall isn’t solely a sports activities facility however a nationally vital cultural landmark. Every design choice was fastidiously weighed to retain authentic supplies, spatial qualities, and particulars wherever potential — particularly the distinctive ceramic tiles relationship from the Twenties, says Katri Olli, Project Manager of the Urban Environment Division on the City of Helsinki.

The renovation additionally launched a brand new public paintings commissioned beneath Helsinki’s Percent for Art precept. Created by photographic artist Noora Sandgren, the work Water Bodies consists of six glass-printed pictures put in on the entrance of the swimming corridor. The piece celebrates water as a life-giving pressure and highlights the interplay between totally different organisms. Under the Percent for Art scheme, a portion of the town’s building and renovation budgets is allotted to new public artworks.

A showering expertise like no different

Yrjönkatu Swimming Hall is exclusive amongst Helsinki’s public swimming amenities in providing guests the choice to swim both nude or sporting swimwear, based on private choice. Swimming days are scheduled individually for ladies and men, persevering with a long-standing custom.

The two ranges of the constructing supply contrasting however complementary experiences: the bottom ground features as a conventional swimming corridor for train and laps, whereas the second ground invitations guests to linger in a extra spa-like setting, with non-public cubicles, a number of saunas, and a café overlooking the pool. Together, they kind a singular and much-loved mixture of a public swimming corridor and a historic city spa.