[1] To commission a new headquarters in Jyväskylä, the Defence Corps or Civil Guard (Suojeluskunta) organisation held in 1925 an architectural contest.

[1] However, the Defence Corps only possessed the building for five years, and in 1934 it was acquired by the Finnish state, and has since then most commonly been referred to as Valtiontalo (lit.

[4] The building's interior, in particular, marks a departure from the rigid lines of neo-classicism, employing more fluid and flexible shapes and spaces, as well as lighter and more functional materials.

[2] Originally the building was designed as a mixed-use, multi-tenant complex, housing a cinema, restaurants, retail and banking facilities, sporting venues, as well as the assembly hall and other functions of the Defence Corps.

[2] Since the 1990s, the building has been designated and protected as part of the Jyväskylä administrative quarter by the Finnish Heritage Agency as a nationally important built cultural environment (Valtakunnallisesti merkittävä rakennettu kulttuuriympäristö).