Mänttä, Finland

SERLACHIUS MUSEUM GÖSTA EXTENSION

The Joenniemi Manor is in a privileged and isolated location with direct visual connection to the Taavertinsaari Island. The objective of this project in tender is to preserve this visual connection, proposing a museum structure so that it becomes the background for the magnificent architectonic and natural landscape perceived when approaching the manor from the main road.

The intention is to create a place taking advantage of the different perspectives from the museum,the island and the lake without creating any visual barriers. The museum structure together with the Joenniemi Manor and the Autere’s house create an integrated square, an architectonic design which joints elements otherwise apart from each other.

Besides, the volume of the Museum structure gradually descends, just like the orography towards the Melasjärvi lake inducing the visitor to enjoy the panoramic view that the Taavertinsaari Island and the Joenniemi Manor (with its garden) can offer.

Even though the extension required to implement the structure is considerable, having used the orography as an element of the architectonic composition has made it visually lighter and also has achieved a lesser impact, without diminishing the relevant position that the Joenniemi Manor has always had. The entrance is situated close by Joenniemi Manor’s gate and it leads to a spacious foyer that is connected to an auditorium through a mobile wall. This foyer also has a more discrete opening to the outside.

A little difference in level lead us to the exposition rooms. The exposition rooms have been thought and distributed to create a specific path for the visitor, but not monotonous or repetitive. The first area the visitor is taken to is the pedagogic room, after that the visitor can proceed to the temporary exposition room number two, smaller than the next temporary exposition room number one.

The temporary exposition room one is illuminated from above through a glass roof. The structure of the roof is made of a number of beams that attenuate the light, so the visitor can enjoy an indirect natural light which is the best regarding quality and efficiency. The temporary exposition room one is a joint between the two storeys of the structure without breaking the museum’s itinerary. The high structure is bringing us in a flexible and gradual manner through a ramp to the second part of our visit.

During the itinerary the visitor doesn’t feel disorientated which can often happen inside a closed structure, lacking any reference or views to the outside spaces. The glass ramp creates a peaceful contrast among the uniform light in the room, the direct light and the landscape of the Melasjärvi lake and the Taavertinsaari Island.

For the permanent gallery, more formal and sober compared to the temporary exposition rooms, we decided to use for its illumination elegant skylights in the ceiling. It’s precisely the permanent gallery who leads to Joenniemi Manor’s entrance though a glass corridor, to keep always a natural and fluid itinerary.

The glass connection allows to continue the visit into Joenniemi Manor’s rooms and finish in the beautiful underground floor of the Manor where it is possible, following an underground corridor to get back to the entrance foyer and complete the full visit to the museum.

Sections

Europaconcorsi Beta

SERLACHIUS MUSEUM GÖSTA EXTENSION