Maritime Centre Vellamo in Kotka
Maritime Centre Vellamo in the Central Harbour
of Kotka celebrated a topping-out ceremony on 29 March 2007.
Six months before, the cornerstone of the museum centre
was laid, among others, by Paavo Lipponen, Speaker of the
Finnish Parliament. The Provincial Museum of Kymenlaakso
and the Maritime Museum of Finland, which will be transferred
from Helsinki to Kotka, will move to the building in the
autumn of 2007.
 Maritime
Centre Vellamo, which represents modern architecture, is
being erected in a maritime setting in the Central Harbour
(Kantasatama) of Kotka. The building will be complete in
the autumn of 2007 and opened to the public in July 2008.
Vellamo is not only a significant cultural achievement but
also a sizeable investment by the city. The building will
cost almost 40 million EUR. The building with a maritime
design has been planned by Architects Lahdelma & Mahlamäki.
It will have a total area of over 14,000 square metres and
will provide a workplace for some - such as the steam icebreaker
Tarmo, the lighthouse ship Kemi and several coastguard vessels
- moored to Vellamo's quay will render the Central Harbour
an attraction which also provides room for visiting ships.
Information Centre Vellamo will also be established
in the Maritime Centre. The Information Centre shared by
the Palmenia Centre for Continuing Education of the University
of Helsinki, Kymenlaakso University of Applied Sciences,
Provincial Museum of Kymenlaakso, and Maritime Museum of
Finland will be a pioneer in integrating the expertise of
museums and higher education. It will offer library, archive
and information services ranging from maritime history and
local history to museology. The same service point will
be a source for literature, electronic publications, databases
in various fields, ships' drawings, historic maps and photographs.
In addition, Vellamo will be a pleasant venue
for various types of events, meetings and seminars. The
building will house an auditorium for 200 persons and also
smaller conference facilities.
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