Design competition received 579 entries

The design competition for the extension of Gösta Museum, i.e. Joenniemi Manor has arosen a notable international interest. A total amount of 579 entries for the new museum have been received from 41 different countries.

General international design competition was opened 1 December 2010. Reception of entries was concluded 16 March 2011.

"The interest in our competition has surprised us with its broadness. During the winter, architects from all over the world have made excursions to Joenniemi milieu. Competition entries have come from every continent, up to Australia and South-America", says the Financial and Administrative Director Juha Roponen.

Little less than one third of all entries, 181 proposals, came from Finland. The next are Italy, Germany and Spain measured in the amount of entries.

The winner and other prize winning proposals shall be published in June. The financial prizes to be awarded total 110,000 euros. The seven-member jury is chaired by Henrik de la Chapelle, Chairman of the Board of the Gösta Serlachius Fine Arts Foundation. The competition rules of the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA) are being observed in the contest.

The total area of the extension to be built on Joenniemi Manor´s surroundings will be approximately 4700 square metres and it will quintuple the available museum space compared to present time.

The aim is to find an architecturally impressive building in connection to Gösta Museum that will fit naturally in the unique and high-class cultural milieu. The manor with its surroundings is nominated as a site of cultural heritage by The National Board of Antiquities. The new space can be designed either attached to the present Manor house or detached from it, but in such manner that there will be an indoor connection between the buildings.

The Manor house that Gösta Serlachius had built will remain as exhibition space also in the future. The opening of the new museum complex is aimed to take place in year 2013, when the Fine Arts Foundation celebrates its 80th anniversary.

The extension project´s cost is estimated at 15 million euros.

from comp site