I. Genius Loci: The competitive property was won from the sea in centuries. It was water and the immediate proximity to the coast still emphasizes this circumstance today. The base of the design sits in the water, the main body glides over the water surfaces like a ship.
II. The past: Turku was and is a center of shipbuilding. The big bang of the Finnish boat is the Haapio. Result: The elongated Haapio sits on the substructure, like a Haapio under construction.
The Haapio connects the historic city center durch den Castle Park of Turku with the newly planned city quarters, a connection of the new and the old Turku. The powerful dynamics and movement of the main body of the museum shows the departure of the old into the new, the past Finland is the basis of everything to come, a built metaphor of the „Museum of the History and the Future.“
In order to ensure the permeability of the structure, the building is divided into two vertical organized parts. The base includes restaurants, cafés and rooms for partner-facilities and event always open and accessible via the connection West-East. The museum is located in the superordinate structure (Haapio) and offer maximum flexibility the upcoming exhibitions.
The north-south aspect is emphasized by the extension of the road axis, but the road is then transformed into a basin of shallow depth, fed by a small opening in the pier, which can be closed by a gate in the event of upcoming highwater-levels. The basin is also a reference to the origin, the sea. In addition, the basin ensures additional cooling during hot summer days. At the same time, the „Courtyard Theater“ offers the possibility of staging events or a just a view onto the water.
The „Haapio“ can be hermetically closed, or partially or completely opened, both the partition wall to the exhibition rooms and the transparent facade are divided into modules which can be opened completely or in segments. This creates an interior and exterior reference and allows maximum flexibility in the use of the designated museum areas. Minimizing the fixed window surfaces also results in a significantly lower energy requirement during the still harsh winters.
While the concept of the design cites elements of the past, the grip on the future should also be emphasized by the materiality of the building. The Haapio stretches like a bridge over the base, the structural construction is a truss in wood/carbon composite construction. The facade cladding is to be formed by highly insulating sandwich elements with a finish made of weather-resistant textile concrete. The partition wall museum rooms, gallery is designed with a natural wooden facade, also to quote the genesis of Haapio.
