Shopping centre

The premises of the shopping centre are changed according to the business needs of each tenant. The location of the sites in the busy city center block, which is constantly in use, requires careful work planning and solid professionalism from all parties involved.

Citycenter was originally planned as a block of flats bordered by Kaivokatu, Keskuskatu and Aleksanterinkatu. The original plan for the new building was only implemented in 1967 with the completion of the Makkaratalo, a building well known to Finns. It now houses a shopping centre called Citycenter.

The shopping centre has around 70 shops, restaurants and cafés. The Tallberg Business Building and the Aleksi-Hermes Building on the Aleksanterinkatu side, which are over 100 years old, are also closely linked to the shopping centre. Both buildings have both commercial and office space.

SW-Sähkö, which carries out electrical, telecommunications and security installations, has acted as the electrical partner of the main contractor Respect Project in Citycenter. An exceptionally demanding renovation project was completed in 2019 on the top floor of the Hermes-Aleksi building. The former server room of a banker’s branch was renovated into a modern office and the building services were completely renewed.

The location of the site on the sixth floor required good logistics management, as there was no storage space. Transport was handled through an underground service tunnel. In addition, the lower floors were in constant use throughout the renovation, which had to be taken into account when planning the work phases. For example, running a data cable through the access shaft to the top floor required agreement with all tenants on the lower floors. Access to the technical areas was restricted for security reasons, as the building housed, among other things, legal offices.

SW-Sähkö has also been responsible for various electrical work on the shopping centre itself. The plans commissioned by the tenants are carried out by a dedicated team from Sponda, the owner of the property. SW-Sähkö implements the changes according to these plans. An example of this is the conversion of a vacant commercial space into a restaurant. The electrical work in the public customer bathrooms is also carried out by SW-Sähkö.

At Citycenter, the shops are open on weekdays mainly from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. This has also required exceptional working hours for electricians. The business of other tenants in the building must not be disturbed and electrical installations are carried out early in the morning or after closing time at night, as required.