Helsinki Music Centre

Musiikkitalo, Finnish for House of Music, is the concert hall opened in 2011 in the heart of Helsinki on the shore of Toeoeloelahti Bay, between the parliament, Finlandia Hall and the Kiasma museum. It is home to the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Sibelius Academy, the country's only music academy. The main 1700-seat hall was tuned by Japanese acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, who also designed the acoustics of Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Elbphilharmonie. The orchestra sits in the middle of the audience in a vineyard layout, giving an unusually close listening experience. By day the foyer with its cafe is open to everyone, students practise visibly in glass booths, and the roof terrace looks across the bay to the Helsinki skyline.