Finland is well known for being the happiest country in the world. Three-quarters of its surface is covered by forests, with the world’s biggest archipelago.
It is indeed that nature has dominated the Finnish landscape creating one of the most remarkable natural sceneries on the planet. The hills covered by moorland pictured by one of the greatest photographers in Finnish history, I.K. Inha, as well as the horizontality of the archipelagos scattered in the sea like a massive wetland, have deeply influenced in shaping the Museum of History and the Future in Turku.
The museum’s design aims to be an architectural statement of the Finnish landscape. It seeks inspiration from the beauty of light inside a Finnish cave to recreate a similar atmosphere in the lobby and the museum’s exhibition spaces. The walls of dark Corten steel keep a dimmed interior environment while natural light is introduced through the skylights as liquid matter.
The Museum of History and the Future stands on a privileged site along the coastline. The façade is designed to express serenity and elegance and acts as a plinth for the Turku Castle that sits behind. The dark brown colour of the Corten steel is juxtaposed with the warm light that comes out from the restaurant, creating a mesmerising effect that is mirrored by the seawater at night.
The restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the vast sea and the wide terrace is the perfect place for fine dining. With views towards the sea and the retained platform pontoon transformed into a symphony stage is surely an attraction for all visitors.
The museum is designed to establish an intimate connection with Turku Castle through a meandering downhill footpath that leads the visitors from the castle to the museum by crossing a biodiverse park. The triangular shape of the museum allows it to keep its distance from the surrounding residential buildings and the Hotel Seaport while enabling a great public space with an amphitheatre and a water mirror. In winter, this water mirror becomes a wonderful ice-skating rink.
Accessing the museum from the castle, the visitor can experience the romantic landscape inside the lobby. Hanging plants falling from the skylight minimises the natural light while creating an avant-garde interior space. The lobby of the museum is designed to serve as a living room for the city of Turku. On this floor, visitors can access the ticketing facilities, cloakroom, auditorium, café, restaurant, event space, museum shop, DIY workshop and showroom.
The Museum of History and the Future plays with the contradiction between nature and rationality. It aims to recreate atmospheric experiences inspired by Finnish landscapes while using rational triangular shapes to make them happen. The triangular shape is chosen because of its advantages when placing the museum on the site, allowing in one single gesture, the creation of a public space between the museum and the surrounding buildings without compromising the façades along the sea and the adjacent park.
