Autism-friendly instructions for the visit at Säynätsalo Town Hall.
This is a description of a visit to Säynätsalo Town Hall. It is meant for everyone who wants more detailed information about the visit beforehand: Where is the entrance to the Town Hall? Who are you going to meet there? What should you do at the information desk?
The idea of the Autism-friendly-certificate is to bring services available to people on the autism spectrum.
Sisällys
7. Regulations and other things to remember
8. Guidelines for overnight visitors
1. Säynätsalo Town Hall
The building worked as a Town Hall until Säynätsalo merged with the municipality of Jyväskylä in 1993. The building is no longer in its original official use. Architect Alvar Aalto designed the building in 1949-52 and today it is a popular visiting site for lovers of architecture and design. Nevertheless, you do not need to be a professional in the field, nor an Aalto-fan, to visit the building. We welcome and value every visitor. We believe that the atmosphere, the humane scale, and the interesting history of the building, as well as the modern activities, and services are a good starting point for a successful visit. .
Regardless of your profession, education, experience, or what stage of your life you are in, what mobility you have, or who you love, you are always safe and welcome to visit Säynätsalo Town Hall.
2. Arrival at the Town Hall
The address of the Town Hall is Parviaisentie 9, 40900 Säynätsalo
Arrival by car
The visitors coming by car can park in the car park in front of the building, or in a bigger car park, marked on the map. There is a disabled parking space in front of the building and three disabled parking spaces in the bigger car park. There is a short walking distance from the bigger car park to the Town Hall.
Arrival by bus
If you arrive by local “Linkki” bus (number 16 or 21), tell the driver that you want to hop off at the Town Hall stop. The official name of the stop is SS-KUNNNANTALO-2. Walk from the stop another 100 meters in the same direction as the bus, and you will see the red bricks of the Town Hall on the right side.
For tourist and charter busses, there is a parking place in front of the Town Hall, along the street Parviaisentie.
Entrance and interiors
From the front yard of the building, there are granite stairs leading up to the inner yard. The entrance to the Town Hall is in the corner of the inner yard. When coming in, you will encounter a hall and you can see the entrance to the shop and the information desk on the right side.
If you want, you can hang your outdoor clothes up on the rack, which can be found on the right side of the entrance to the information desk. The toilets are next to the rack. If needed, the staff leads you to an accessible toilet, which is suitable for wheelchair users. You can recognize the staff from a work waistcoat or a black T-shirt with Säynätsalo Town Hall logo.
Move to the information desk. There you will get information about tours and other services of the building, such as library services, cafeteria, and antiquarian services. If you have booked an overnight stay, you can get information about your stay as well. You can read more about an overnight stay in chapter 8.
Call in advance to the number +358 46582 1060, if you want us to come to meet you to the parking area. Call especially, if you are disabled, so that we know to come and lead you to the accessible entrance on the side of the residential wing.
It is about 100 meters from the bus stop to the Town Hall. The entrance (1) is in the corner of the inner yard. The door to the accommodation (2) is available for guests after check-in.
3. Staff
Since the municipal merger 1993, no officers have worked at the Town Hall. The staff of travelling company Tavolo Bianco works as guides to the visitors. You can recognize us from a work waistcoat or a black T-shirt with Säynätsalo Town Hall logo. In addition, we have name tags. You can always ask for help from us. We may also come and greet you on our own initiative and ask if we can help you. Remember that you can call us in advance at the number +358 46 582 1060 and we can come to meet and help you when you arrive if needed.
At the Town Hall work also the staff of the Alvar Aalto museum until the summer of 2023, but they are working in their own offices most of the time. You can recognize them from an access key with Alvar Aalto foundation logo. They are not a part of the guiding staff, but they are happy to answer your questions and guide you.
You can recognize us from a work waistcoat or a black T-shirt with Säynätsalo Town Hall logo. In addition, we have name tags.
4. Buying the tickets
You can by the entrance tickets straight on site at the information desk or beforehand on the website. Ask at the information desk what kind of entrance ticket you should buy. Tell, if you own a museum card or if you belong to a certain discount group, for example, if you are under 18 years old. If you bought the ticket beforehand on our website, show the ticket at the information desk when you arrive.
At the information desk, you can pay in cash, by bank or credit card, or by Smartum culture saldo.
At the information desk, you will get an entrance sticker. Attach it to you in a visible place, for example, on your shirt. You can throw the backing paper of the sticker into a waste-paper basket. Hold the sticker in its place the whole visit. If you need to interrupt your tour but decide to come back later, you can use the same sticker on the same day. You can keep the sticker as a souvenir of your visit to Säynätsalo Town Hall..
You can ask for a VIP passport at the information desk. Hang the passport around your neck, so that the staff at the cafeteria and the library, and the staff of the companies in the building, know that you might need special help with using the services.
You can buy an entrance ticket at the information desk.
You will receive an entrance ticket sticker with the Town Hall logo at the information desk.
You can ask for a VIP passport at the information desk.
5. Design shop
Next to the information desk is a Design shop, where you can buy souvenirs, design and books. You can visit the shop before your tour or after it. If you like, you can also order and pay the products in advance on our online store. You will then get the packed products either at the information desk or delivered to your car. If you are staying overnight, we will bring your ordered products directly to your room.
Next to the information desk is the Design shop.
6. Moving around the building
Guided Tour
After buying your ticket, you can move around the building on your own, or you can take part in a guided tour. Guided tours begin from the hall, according to the schedules, and are led by a tour guide. The schedules of the guided tours can be found on our website. A tour takes about 30-40 minutes. During a tour, you can ask questions from the guide but do not interrupt too often. Instead, let the others in your group concentrate on guiding. The guide recognizes your VIP passport and knows to help you when needed.
Guided tours begin from the hall, according to the schedules and are led by a tour guide.
Explore by yourself
If you feel that you want to explore the building on your own, you can always interrupt the tour guide and let him or her know that you are leaving the group.
If you are not taking part in a guided tour, you can watch our guiding video which runs non-stop in the video room. The video takes 11 minutes. You can always ask for help from the staff. At the information desk, you will always find someone to guide you.
When you move around the building, you can at times stop and think about why this building is so famous. What kinds of details does the building contain? How does the atmosphere change when moving from one space to another? What does the building whisper about its initial purpose of use and its history? Look at the best places for a stop on the map enclosed. Sit down and look around, feel how the well-thought-out details and the artistic whole create the atmosphere.
A place to rest
If you feel there are too many people on your way, you can, for example, go and sit on the bench at the end of the lower hallway (marked on the map). There you can rest in peace and quiet.
Good stops outdoors on the grass stairs and in the library reading room..
Good stops at the end of the corridor and on the library's upper floor.
There is a good stop upstairs at the back of the council chamber.
7. Regulations and other things to remember
The building and its surroundings are protected by the Act on the Protection of the Built Heritage. All kind of littering or damaging is forbidden. In the interiors eating and drinking are forbidden. The drinking bottle or other liquids and food must be left on the rack.
On a rainy day the overcoat and the umbrella must be left on the rack.
During winter, the shoes with steel studs must be left at the entrance. Take with you another pair of shoes without the studs, which you can change when you arrive.
You can move around freely and spend time at the Town Hall as long as you like. Use as an exit the same front door as when you came in. Remember to pick up your belongings on the rack before you leave.
During summer, there are tables and benches outside, where you can rest, eat snacks or enjoy the take-away coffee from the cafeteria. The overnight guests can sit and enjoy the peaceful night until late evening.
Smoking is prohibited in the area.
8. Guidelines for overnight visitors
Arrival
If you have booked an overnight stay at the Town Hall, come to the information desk, and tell the staff that you have booked an overnight stay, as instructed in chapter 2.
The staff leads you to the housing facilities and shows you the apartment or the guest room you have booked. From the staff, you will get a key, which you can use for the entrance door and your room´s door at any time of the day. When you leave your room, keep the key in your pocket or in your bag. The key is meant to be carried with you all the time, not left at the information desk. The entrance to the housing facilities can be found in the residential wing. The entrance is marked in the following picture.
In your room, you have a folder, where you can find a lot of useful information. You can have a look at the folder on the website in advance.
Services
The Town Hall cafeteria is open for everyone. From there, you can buy tasteful food and breakfast. In the apartments, there is a kitchen with an oven, a microwave and a kettle, a coffee machine, dishes, baking dishes, pans, frying pans, kitchen tools, and cutleries. There are no kitchens in the guest rooms, but dishes, a kettle, and a microwave, as well as a little fridge, belong to the equipment
About the other services in Säynätsalo, such as nature experiences, you can find information on saynatsalo.info website. You can ask for more recommendations on the night program from the staff – one possibility is to rent a bike and cycle to Muuratsalo for an evening tea.
MDeparture
In the morning you can sleep long or get up early. You need to check out before 12. This means you need to get your belongings and leave your room before that. This way the cleaner can make your room ready for the next quests. You can leave the dishes and waste to be sorted out by the cleaner. If you do not use some bedclothes or towels, leave them as they were when you arrived. This way we do not need to send the bedclothes and the towels unnecessarily to the laundry.
When it is time for your departure, you can leave the key on the table in your room and close the door. We have other keys to get into the room. It would be nice if you could come and meet us before your leave, but you can also leave without seeing us. However, remember to leave the key in the room!
If you have a longer stay, we do not bother you unnecessarily during your stay. If you need any kind of help, cleaning, or new bedclothes or towels, come and see us at the information desk. In the room folder, you will find the contact information also for the hours when the Town Hall is closed, and no staff is working at the information desk.
Staff will guide you to the accommodation and show you the apartment or the guest room you have booked
The cleaner will make your room ready for the next quests.
You can always give feedback to the staff! Tell about your experiences at the information desk. You can also fulfil a feedback formula on the website.
