Iiris - The Service and Activity Centre for the Visually Impaired

The main national-scale and capital city area services for visually impaired persons are now located in the IIRIS Centre - the service and activity centre for the visually impaired.

The IIRIS Centre was specifically designed for blind, partially sighted and deaf-blind visitors. The building is accessible to persons with sensory or physical handicaps as well as to other disabled clients.

The IIRIS Centre is also a well functioning training and congress centre situated within good communications. The multipurpose premises are suited to occasions attended by as many as 300 persons.

All services under one roof

The IIRIS Centre is the solution provided by many organizations to the problem of inadequate premises, a problem which has been pestering the services for the visually impaired for years.

The common premises in the IIRIS Centre are being used effectively and in many various ways. During the days the premises are used for rehabilitation, training, and employment. In evenings and weekends they are at the disposal of visually impaired persons' organizations and hobby circles.

In future, more and more people will be needing the services for the visually impaired. As the population grows older there will be an increase in the number of those with deteriorating eyesight and visual impairment.

Those services which earlier lay scattered are now easily found under one roof.

The Accessible IIRIS Centre has

• a central location within good communications
• a clear floor plan with right angles
• signs: large print, braille, tactile signs
• guiding tactile tiles, strips, and handrails
• talking lift and audible beacons
• good general lighting and prevention of glare
• contrasts, colours
• accessibility by wheelchair
• acustic qualities improved by spaces with various echoes
• main premises with inductive loops

You Can Have a Successful Occasion in The IIRIS Centre

Auditorium and assembly rooms

The auditorium is especially well suited for arranging seminars, lectures, or even concerts. The auditorium has ascending seats for 100 persons with extra space for wheelchairs and additional seats in the front.

The auditorium has top level technological equipment, including, for instance, a data projector, a documentary camera, and a computer with Internet connections. The auditorium has good sound reproduction and an inductive loop for the hard-of-hearing. With the aid of a bass loudspeaker in the floor also deaf-blind visitors may sense the lowest sounds. The auditorium has an interpretation service system into three languages.

The meeting rooms for 8, 16, or 40 persons contain, for instance, overhead projectors, data projectors, and flap boards.

Equipment and technical support are included into the rent for the premises - when booking, please mention what kind of equipment is needed.

The restaurant

The Restaurant IIRIS offers a varied range of service packages from serving of coffee to three course business lunches. The menu can be planned according to personal wishes or special diets.

Meals may be taken in the sunny and well-lit dining room with 120 seats, or in a chosen meeting room. On cocktail occasions, the restaurant space may be extended into the hall and the broad main corridor with its wooden gates and glass walls.

Also Visit:

• Gift and handicraft shop Annansilmät-Aitta
• AvIRIS technical aids shop
• AvIRIS optician's shop
• Visual Impairment Museum
• Aktivo physiotherapy and massage

How to reach us

The IIRIS Centre is situated close by the Itäkeskus underground (Metro) station. Itäkeskus is easily reached by the underground and by busses. There are parking places along the road Marjaniementie.

Please Get in Contact with

head of client services
tel. +358 9 3960 4334

Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired
PO. Box 30
FIN-00030 IIRIS

Visiting address
Marjaniementie 74
Itäkeskus, Helsinki
tel +358 9 396 041
www.nkl.fi/iiris

The Iiris Centre houses the following organizations:

• The Finnish Federation of the Visually Impaired is an expert on vision and eyesight. It provides special services for visually impaired persons and acts as an advocacy organization for their rights. The Federation is the umbrella organization for various associations of the visually impaired in Finland. Its membership consists of 11 national and 14 regional member associations. The Federation of the Visually Impaired makes its services available to the whole of 80,000 visually impaired persons in Finland regardless of membership. www.nkl.fi
• The Association of the Visually Impaired in Helsinki and Uusimaa is an interest and socializing association of persons in the Uusimaa province with severe low vision and blindness. www.hun.fi
• The Association of the Visually Impaired Masseurs and Physiotherapists is the association of visually impaired masseurs, assistant physiotherapists, and physiotherapists. It furthers employment and offers further professional training. It also maintains the Aktivo chain providing physiotherapy services. www.aktivofysio.fi
• Cultural Services of the Visually Impaired is an association which promotes the cultural interests of visually impaired persons. It has hobby circles and improves the opportunities of blind and partially sighted persons to participate in general cultural offerings.
• The Finnish Deafblind Association is an interest, expertise, service, and socializing association of deaf-blind and visually impaired hard-of-hearing persons. The specific needs of the deaf-blind are considered in all activities of the association. www.kuurosokeat.fi
• Celia - The Library for the Visually Impaired is a state-owned central library which produces and lends special material throughout the country: talking books, braille books, electronic books, relief picture materials, and study materials. www.celia.fi