ALVAR AALTO MUSEUM EXTENSION

Type Concept Design, Building Permission Design , Detail DesignLocation Jyväskylä, FinlandProgramme Culture   Author Tomas Labanc,  Ramon BernabeYear 2016 Size 199 m2Client Open International Competition

Our proposal consists in a simple pavilion built by a sequence of structural wood ribs that creates an open space between the Alvar Aalto Museum and the Museum of Central Finland. Structure, facade and roof are solved with a unitary system that creates a unique play of lights and shadows, which reminds the Crepuscular rays we can find in the woodlands of Finland.


The irregular prism is carefully placed on the site, attached to the terrain from the back and elegantly cantilevered on the front facade enhancing the sloping topography.


The height difference between both museums is softly connected by the new extension with 7 stepping platforms 2.4m width, which organize the museum shop and creates a series of different but interconnected areas. This artificial and fragmented slope reminds the terraced landscape in Maison Louis Carre in a gesture of rationalizing nature. 


The new extension is completely open to a more public area of the Museum of Central Finland lobby and minimally connected to more private Alvar Aalto museum exhibition area. The plan layout is open and flexible allowing different configurations, routes and transformation of use. There is a connection to lower connective gateway near the existing elevator, where mechanical and storage rooms are located.