flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Helsinki’s underground art museum opens to the public

Museums

Helsinki’s underground art museum opens to the public

JKMM designed the space.


By David Malone, Associate Editor | September 10, 2018
Amos Rex at night

© Mika Huisman.

Located underneath a 1930’s shopping center and the adjacent Lasipalatsi Square in Helsinki, the Amos Rex Museum provides about 23,500 sf of modern exhibition space.

The underground exhibition halls have domed ceilings and large skylights that open up to the square. From inside, the domed, undulating roofs have a design that features white circles against a black backdrop, which takes on the appearance of an art installation in its own right. The contemporary display halls have no pillars and are designed with flexibility in mind to allow for a variety of different exhibitions.

 

Amos Rex Exterior© Mika Huisman.

See Also: A WWII bunker becomes a museum along Denmark’s coast

 

From above ground, the five domes and skylights resemble slowly melting igloos peppered around the square. Visitors can take a peek into the skylights to view what is happening below or they can climb and walk along the domed roofs. The domes and skylights allow the square to function as an open space while also ensuring the museum space below doesn’t go unnoticed.

The Amos Rex Museum officially opened on Aug. 30.

 

Amos Rex Museum© Tuomas Uusheimo.

Tags

Related Stories

Museums | Mar 24, 2016

Aquarium of the Pacific unveils whale of a project

Designed by EHDD, the 18,000-sf, whale-shaped Pacific Visions will have gathering spots, galleries, and a theater with a large, curved screen.

Museums | Mar 3, 2016

How museums engage visitors in a digital age

Digital technologies are opening up new dimensions of the museum experience and turning passive audiences into active content generators, as Gensler's Marina Bianchi examines.

Museums | Feb 12, 2016

Construction begins on Foster + Partners’ Norton Museum of Art expansion project

The Florida museum is adding gallery space, an auditorium, great hall, and a 20,000-sf garden.

Architects | Feb 11, 2016

Stantec agrees to acquire VOA Associates

This deal reflects an industry where consolidation is a strategic necessity for more firms.

Museums | Feb 5, 2016

Diller Scofidio + Renfro transforms old Art Deco building into a museum at UC Berkeley

The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, which opened in late January, contains a theater, lab, and galleries. It was once a printing plant.

Museums | Jan 22, 2016

Canadian Canoe Museum selects Heneghan Peng Architects’ design for new location

The single-story structure is designed for sustainability as well as function.

Architects | Jan 15, 2016

Best in Architecture: 18 projects named AIA Institute Honor Award winners

Morphosis' Perot Museum and Studio Gang's WMS Boathouse are among the projects to win AIA's highest honor for architecture.

| Jan 14, 2016

How to succeed with EIFS: exterior insulation and finish systems

This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the six elements of an EIFS wall assembly; common EIFS failures and how to prevent them; and EIFS and sustainability.

Museums | Dec 18, 2015

Santiago Calatrava-designed museum with skeletal roof opens in Rio

The Museu do Amanhã addresses the future of the planet and has an inventive, futuristic design itself.

Museums | Dec 16, 2015

Gluckman Tang-designed museums could stimulate economy in North Adams, Mass.

The goal is to create a “cultural corridor” between North Adams and Williamstown, Mass.  

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Museums

Connecticut’s Bruce Museum more than doubles its size with a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition

In Greenwich, Conn., the Bruce Museum, a multidisciplinary institution highlighting art, science, and history, has undergone a campus revitalization and expansion that more than doubles the museum’s size. Designed by EskewDumezRipple and built by Turner Construction, the project includes a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition as well as a comprehensive renovation of the 32,500-sf museum, which was originally built as a private home in the mid-19th century and expanded in the early 1990s. 




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021