Winners chosen for Alvar Aalto museum extension

A group of young Finnish architects have won a competition to integrate two museums by Modernist architect Alvar Aalto – but have been told their design needs "a lot of development".

First Prize. “Silmu” by Sini Rahikainen, Hannele Cederström, Inka Norros, Kirsti Paloheimo and Maria Kleimola

An entry called “Silmu” (Finnish for a leaf bud) by the team with Sini Rahikainen, Hannele Cederström, Inka Norros, Kirsti Paloheimo and Maria Kleimola were awarded first place in the international Ruusupuisto design competition, winning €14,000. The competition sought solutions that would connect and integrate two masterpieces by the architect Alvar Aalto – the Alvar Aalto Museum and the Museum of Central Finland – and develop the area around the museums in Jyväskylä’s Ruusupuisto park.

The museums of the Jyväskylä Ruusupuisto area, Alvar Aalto museum and the Museum of Central Finland, are both significant works of architect Alvar Aalto. The goal of the competition is to create a design for an extension to connect the two museums in a way that represents the high architectural level of the place. The new extension will have to adapt to its worthy environment in a balanced way, and to find a natural connection with the architecture of Alvar Aalto (1898–1976).

The new extension between the museums will serve as a connecting gateway between the museums, as a shared museum shop and as a technical space. The extension will enable the shared use of the already existing exhibition spaces, the passenger elevator, the auditorium, the cafeteria and the workroom spaces.

However a statement from the competition jury states that the design requires significant revision to overcome functional weaknesses before becoming a feasible scheme. Between other things they said in their statement.- "The courtyard solution raises conflicting feelings. As an idea and in its design it is a beautiful, integral part of the totality, but both technically and functionally it is extremely challenging." The jurors also described the scheme as "a diamond in the rough", and they explained "As the pseudonym of the entry suggests, the gentle form is superbly sensitive and powerful at the same time. It is memorable and structures the new architecture to specifically suit this location."

PRIZES.

1. Prize (14 000€)
Pseudonym.- Silmu
Authors.- Sini Rahikainen, Hannele Cederström, Inka Norros, Kirsti Paloheimo, Maria Kleimola

2. Prize (7 000€)
Pseudonym.- Kannel
Authors.- Tarmo Juhola, Essi Peltola, Anna Juhola
Assistants.- Anna Hakamäki, Minna-Maija Sillanpää

3. Prize (5 000€)
Pseudonym.- The Ground and the Roof
Authors.- SMAR Architecture Studio. Fernando Jerez, Belen Perez de Juan
Assistants.- Xinyi Wang, Kristen de Gregorio, Alejandro Gil

1. Purchased entry (2 000€)
Authors.- Arkkitehtuurityöhuone BUENAVENTURA. Janne Ekman, Aapo Huotarinen, Kasmir Jolma, Teemu Paasiaho, Ville Reima, Lassi Viitanen
Assistants.- Juuso Iivonen, Tytti Turpeinen

2. Purchased entry (2 000€)
Authors.- Antti Soini, Leo Lindroos
Assistants.- Tuuli Kanerva, Milla Tissari

1. Honourable mention
Authors.- Luis Fco. Romero Martinez, Sandra Gomez Alba

2. Honourable mention
Authors.- Sami Vikström

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Second Prize. “Kannel” by Tarmo Juhola, Essi Peltola, Anna Juhola.

Third Prize. “The Ground and the Roof” by SMAR Architecture Studio. Fernando Jerez, Belen Perez de Juan.

1. Purchased entry. By Arkkitehtuurityöhuone BUENAVENTURA. Janne Ekman, Aapo Huotarinen, Kasmir Jolma, Teemu Paasiaho, Ville Reima, Lassi Viitanen.

2. Purchased entry. By Antti Soini, Leo Lindroos.

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ALVAR AALTO

Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) qualified as an architect from Helsinki Institute of Technology (later Helsinki University of Technology and now part of the Aalto University) in 1921. He set up his first architectural practice in Jyväskylä. His early works followed the tenets of Nordic Classicism, the predominant style at that time. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, he made a number of journeys to Europe on which he and his wife Aino Marsio, also an architect, became familiar with the latest trends in Modernism, the International Style.

The pure Functionalist phase in Aalto’s work lasted for several years. It enabled him to make an international breakthrough, largely because of Paimio Sanatorium (1929-1933), an important Functionalist milestone. Aalto had adopted the principals of user-friendly, functional design in his architecture. From the late 1930s onwards, the architectural expression of Aalto’s buildings became enriched by the use of organic forms, natural materials and increasing freedom in the handling of space.

From the 1950s onwards, Aalto’s architectural practice was employed principally on the design of public buildings, such as Säynätsalo Town Hall (1948-1952), the Jyväskylä Institute of Pedagogics, now the University of Jyväskylä (1951-1957), and the House of Culture in Helsinki (1952-1956). His urban design master plans represent larger projects than the buildings mentioned above, the most notable schemes that were built being Seinäjoki city centre (1956-1965/87), Rovaniemi city centre (1963-1976/88) and the partly built Jyväskylä administrative and cultural centre (1970-1982).

From the early 1950s onwards, Alvar Aalto’s work focused more and more on countries outside Finland, so that a number of buildings both private and public were built to his designs abroad. Some of his best-known works include Villa Mairea, Noormarkku, Finland (1937–1939), the Finnish Pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair, Baker House, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA (1947–1948), Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo, Finland (1949–1966), The Experimental House, Muuratsalo, Finland (1953) or Essen opera house, Essen, Germany (1959–1988).