ABSTRACT
The Finnish National Theatre is characterised by its centrally-located main building that was completed in 1902 and legitimising a national theatre’s position as the nation’s premier theatre. In 1954 the National Theatre expanded its main building with a prime example of post-war modernist architecture: its new parkside extension the Small Stage building. Later, the National Theatre added two further performance spaces to its portfolio, the Willensauna stage and the Omapohja studio space. From an architectural point of view, both of these new stages blended in seamlessly with the existing space and the surrounding city. They did not permanently alter or change the Finnish National Theatre’s architectural framework. Though the Theatre’s architectural legacy in the city was effectively still composed of the Main Stage and Small Stage buildings, the Willensauna stage existed inside the theatrical landmark and the Omapohja studio space melted into the surrounding urban environment. The stages reacted to the constant changes around them and enabled a national institution to successfully stay abreast with a changing dramatic landscape.
