Kaapelitehdas
Encyclopedia
Ruoholahti
Ruoholahti is a quarter in Helsinki, part of the Länsisatama neighbourhood and Kampinmalmi district. The name means Grass Bay and is pronounced...
, Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, near the bridge to Lauttasaari
Lauttasaari
Lauttasaari is an island and neighbourhood of Western Helsinki , about 3 kilometres west of the city centre....
.
The building was originally constructed as a cable
Cable
A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...
factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
in 1939–1954 for Suomen Kaapelitehdas Oy (Finnish Cable Works), hence the name. Cable manufacturing started in 1943 and was discontinued in 1987.
Suomen Kaapelitehdas was acquired by Suomen Gummitehdas Oy (Finnish Rubber Works) in 1922. Suomen Gummitehdas was renamed Suomen Kumitehdas in 1959, and the companies Suomen Kumitehdas, Nokia Aktiebolag and Suomen Kaapelitehdas were merged in 1966–1967 to form Oy Nokia Ab (Nokia Corporation
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
).
The building was acquired by the city of Helsinki and converted into a cultural centre, where various private and public organisations are based and can hold events large and small, concerts, exhibitions, fairs and festivals. Kaapelitehdas is the home of three museums, 13 galleries, dance theatres, ateliers, art schools, rehearsing studios, radio stations, a popular cafeteria and more.
The company Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo is responsible for developing, renting and maintaining the facilities. Kiinteistö Oy Kaapelitalo is owned by the City of Helsinki.
Since 1.1.2008 the company has also managed old energy production area in the eastern part of the city center. Renovation and renting of the Suvilahti will take years.
Kaapelitehdas is a member of the network of independent cultural centres in Europe.
