The Finlandia Hall and its Congress wing was the only part of a plan for a grand new monumental centre for Helsinki around the Töölö Bay area, designed by Alvar Aalto in 1959-1976, to actually be built. The main feature of the Finlandia Hall building is a tower-like section with a sloping roof. Alvar Aalto's idea behind the design was that a high empty space would provide better acoustics. A lattice ceiling hides the space to the audience but it allows the creation of the same deep post-echo as tall church towers. Aalto used Italian Carrara marble in both indoor and outdoor surfaces as a contrast to black granite. For Aalto, the marble was a tie to the Mediterranean culture, which he wanted to bring to Finland.