Mannta, Finland

Serlachius Museum Gösta extension

vecciarchitetti, Tommaso Vecci, GIUSEPPE DI COSTANZO, Carmen Tuccillo, Fondarius Architecture, Federico Calabrese, Alessandra Faraone

The project for the extension of Gosta Serlachius Museum has as main reference and intangible suggestion the existing Manor House and its surroundings, such as the splendid overlooking stretch of water and the Taavetinsari Island. The formal geometric layout, with the Manor House in the center of the project area in a leading position and higher compared with the beautiful landscape and the Olson’s draft resumed in 1997 on the original drawings are constraints and milestones to be favored and pointed out for this project.

The volumes of the new museum are conceived and designed with the utmost respect of both the existing natural landscape and the built environment. The extension is designed as a system of storage unit, connected to the lobby which is in a central position compared to the rooms, through a trails system that carve out fantastic views of the lake and the island. By this logic, the Manor House without losing its features, is part of this new stream System, accommodations and display areas, which configures the new museum.

According to the requirements of the announcement, the Manor House is treated as a room of the new museum, which also includes the restaurant which follows the same logic.

The new museum is a compact volumes system with different heights, the paths and links with the former building of the Manor House are very small, thereby the impact on the surrounding environment is controlled as well as the construction costs.The extension of the Manor House is designed to the east, through the construction of four new volumes in addition to the volume of the existing building and that will create the new Gosta Museum. The whole project, not just the internal allotment, is thought as a spatial sequence that takes the visitor to discover both the museum works and the surrounding landscape.From the parking area, through the existing trail, we get to the new square which is in front of the Manor House entrance. The new square, to get to the museum, an authentic parterre of large gray stone slabs, the same as the facade of the old house, shows clearly the new access that is between the Manor House and the volume of the auditorium, at the same level of current building, through a slight ramp.

This takes you to the Hall placed centrally compared to the rooms, the transparency of the facade allows you to look the landscape surrounding, the lake, the trees, the green parterre, and to have a favorable view of the main facade of the old house. The museum plan is simple and efficient: rooms, auditorium and restaurant are at the same floor (ground level); on the first floor of auditorium volume which includes the educational museum, are located the offices accessible also by a separate entrance which is located along the path from the parking area to the new square.

The detachment of the paths and their fluidity are the important prerogatives for this project. In the basement, accessible also through the entrance on the north side, between the volume of the large room and the auditorium, is located the services area, the restaurant store and the museum facilities that get natural light through a large patio in the north, ideal for renovation works and preservation. The patio is driveway for loading and unloading.

On the Island is located the sauna that is accessible through a pedestrian bridge that will be rebuilt in the same place where it was the old one.

Europaconcorsi Beta

Serlachius Museum Gösta extension