Amos Rex

A cluster of museums of the highest international standard is being created in Helsinki with the opening of the Amos Rex Art Museum, which will play a key role in the new hub. The museum will act as a magnetic pole in the public urban setting and link it with the other art institutions in its vicinity: the Helsinki Art Museum HAM, Kunsthalle Helsinki, Kiasma and Ateneum.

A cluster of museums of the highest international standard is being created in Helsinki with the opening of the Amos Rex Art Museum, which will play a key role in the new hub. The museum will act as a magnetic pole in the public urban setting and link it with the other art institutions in its vicinity: the Helsinki Art Museum HAM, Kunsthalle Helsinki, Kiasma and Ateneum.

Museum Director Kai Kartio, the originator of the idea, envisioned a bold concept born out of the tension between the old building and the transition to the new visual interface. The exhibition area, most of which is located underground, creates a fascinating architectonic “cave system” which finds an airy and simple expression in the work executed by JKMM Architects. Large skylights provide an indirect link to the external urban space letting natural light into the lobby areas. The free geography of the skylights creates a “natural landscape” in the yard, engaging the existing architecture in a pleasant dialogue. Main access to the museum is via the entrance doors of the old Bio Rex Cinema, while the building’s interior has been skilfully redone to turn it an integral part of the museum experience.

The Amos Rex Art Museum is reminiscent of the optimism of the 1960s as well as today’s biomorphic architecture. The spaces and design introduce a new functional typology to Finnish architecture: the exhibition areas will not assume their final form until the artists hang their works, with the architecture playing a subordinated role as a backdrop. This is underlined by the opening exhibition showing an interactive virtual installation created by teamLab, a Japanese group of artists. Amos Rex brings together the past, present and future creatively and intriguingly.