Since 1945 the residential palace of Gösta Serlachius in the Joenniemi Manor area in Männtä, Finland has been home to the Gösta Serlachius Art Collection, one of the Nordic countries’ most significant private collections. This proposal for the extension of Serlachius Museum by the Office Jarrik Ouburg will expand the capacity of the museum by five times, creating an ensemble of buildings that enhance the quality of the natural landscape.
Read on for more on this project after the break.
In order to fit the relatively large amount of program in the nature and scale of the existing manor, the program is distributed among several smaller buildings. The new buildings for offices and ticket sales/museum shop, complete the urban ensemble on the northern side of the manor and form a square with the existing buildings and hedges: Serlachius square. This square is the formal and functional entrance of the Joenniemi Manor area and the museum site.
The extension of the museum is located on the adjacent Taavetsinsaari Island, and can be divided into a covered path and several rooms. The path follows a height line on the island and is sometimes narrow, giving the visitor a feeling of walking through nature, while on other occasions the path widens and gives space for the entrance lobby, restaurant and assembly hall. The rooms located outside the path contain the exhibition spaces, for temporary and permanent collections, and the rooms on the inside of the path contain the service programs which include wardrobe, toilets, handling, art storage, preparation kitchen, archives and conservation.
The connection of the Serlachius Square and the new museum will be restored. An historic bridge will be rebuilt, reuniting the existing manor with the island.
