Satakunta Museum Archive And Extension
Pori, 2019
Competition entry, for & in collaboration with OPUS architects

The competition had a significantly complex program, incorporating a large amount of museum archive spaces, open exhibition, new facilities for the existing Rosenlew museum, restaurant, workshop spaces for children, offices and more. A plan for the use and possible renovation or changes of the existing Satakunta Musem within the competition area was also part of the competition. Most of the new facilities and functions are situated in a new distinct building across the road from the Satakunta Museum while the original museum building is left mostly untouched. The two buildings are connected in the basement level through an exhibition space. The nature of the building is strongly rooted into its main function as a new archive building. The plan was to not hide the archives underground but instead lift them up to the top floor so that the building clearly signals its essence. The closed volume gives the building a unique sense of weight. The ground floor opens to the surrounding urban fabric containing most of the public facilities and exhibitions. The exhibitions continue as a series underground and finally to the Satakunta Museum across the road- or vice versa!

The difficult plot compels the design to embrace innovative ideas and welcome the strangeness of the resulting urban spaces. The new building is surrounded protected public buildings from wildly different eras along with several extensions with more different styles. At the other side of the plot new apartment buildings are being finished with seemingly no regard to the potential new public building. The new building doesn’t even try to connect with any of the wildly different surrounding styles and accepts it’s own unique identity. The simple rhytm and symmetry aim to calm down the busy surroundings and give the new public building a strong elevated atmosphere. The singular red concrete takes cues from old historic buildings in Pori in colour but avoids connecting with any specific style used around it.