Sponda Plc: Makkaratalo’s “sausage” to become an installation for shopping centre Citycenter’s 50th anniversary
Sponda Plc
Press release
17 February 2017 at 10:15
Sponda Plc: Makkaratalo’s “sausage” to become an installation for shopping centre Citycenter’s 50th anniversary
Citycenter shopping centre and Sponda Plc will perform a good deed for the urban landscape by adorning the beloved “sausage” with a festive dress for the whole summer to celebrate Makkaratalo’s 50th anniversary. A competition was arranged for art students to gather creative ideas for adorning the sausage, the concrete ledge of the iconic Makkaratalo building designed by Viljo Revell and Heikki Castrén in 1967. As many as 16 teams from different art schools took part in the competition.
The winning idea that will be turned into the actual installation will be chosen by a jury at the beginning of March. The public can vote for their favourite at the citycenter50.fi anniversary website from 21 February to 7 March. The competition’s main prize is EUR 10,000, and the winner will be announced in week 10.
The 200-meter-long work of art, to be made from recycled material, will be unveiled on 18 May as part of the Lovely Helsinki festival, and will be displayed right in the heart of the city until the end of August.
“Makkaratalo is an essential part of the Helsinki cityscape. There was no way we could have left it out of Citycenter’s 50th anniversary celebrations. It was wonderful to see how excited the students were to get involved in creating a festive outfit worthy of the iconic sausage. This prominent event symbolises the renewed shopping centre and the whole Makkaratalo building, a landmark for all residents of Helsinki. We want to celebrate Makkaratalo, a true city lady, by dressing her famous curves in festive wear,” says Citycenter’s Shopping Centre Manager Tiina Fågel.
Sponda Plc
Further information: Tiina Fågel, Citycenter’s Shopping Centre Manager, +358 50 427 4091
Marianna Viirre, Citycenter’s Marketing Manager, +358 40 566 1858
Makkaratalo, completed in 1957 and renovated in 2013, houses the Citycenter shopping centre owned by Sponda Plc. Sponda Plc is a property investment company specialising in commercial properties in the largest cities in Finland. Sponda’s business concept is to own, lease and develop retail and office properties and shopping centres into environments that promote the business success of its clients. The fair value of Sponda’s investment properties is approximately EUR 3.8 billion and the leasable area is around 1.2 million m2.