International opening | Amos Rex, Helsinki

Two years and €50m in the making, Amos Rex is a startling statement of intent from Finland to put its capital city at the forefront of Europe’s art scene. Interestingly, the museum arrived just two years after the city turned down the opportunity to have its own Guggenheim Museum, following five years of bitterly contested public debate.

However, the wacky shell of Amos Rex, new in itself, does not technically house a new museum. It is in fact the dramatically ambitious rebrand of the Amos Anderson Museum, which had outgrown its former premises in a nearby converted newspaper office.

By the side of the square that holds the subterranean space stands a notable example of 1930s Finnish functional architecture, the Lasipalatsi (which roughly translates as “Glass Palace”). It was this building that was originally going to house the new-look museum, but the structure was not deemed suitable for housing modern art, nor could an extension be built due to the historic nature of the block.

The idea of digging out an art gallery came from this situation, and as part of the project JKMM Architects has restored the Lasipalatsi, which contains an original 1930s cinema called Bio Rex that provided the second half of the name Amos Rex.

The museum was one of the finalists for the 2018 Finlandia Prize for Architecture. An opening show by Japanese art collective TeamLab laid down the gauntlet for how to take advantage of the museum’s extraordinary spaces by projecting visuals of cascading water onto the subterranean ceiling domes.

What excites you about the new museum?

Kai Kartio: Everything. The concept, the space, all the opportunities it presents, the spirit within the team. Even though I had studied the 3D models thoroughly during the planning process and thought I could imagine it all perfectly, I was still stunned by the sense of space when the scaffolding was taken down. The concrete vault was beautifully cast, so it was sad to cover it with the technical equipment, but we were building an art museum, not a temple.

Why the unusual exterior?
 
We encouraged the architects to have a daring approach. And we wanted large open flexible spaces, for which domes were the logical ceilings. Also, even if the building was underground, it needed a presence and an outlet on the surface. The wonderful new urban space that has been created was down to the vision of Asmo Jaaksi, the founder of JKMM Architects. People love it. They wonder at the mounds, they walk around, they sit, they run, they slide, they bike, they take selfies.

What were the challenges with developing Amos Rex’s subterranean space?
 
It is always challenging to build underground in the centre of a city. The large domes were structurally very demanding. It was also a struggle to keep the chimney-clocktower in the square standing in the middle of the excavation.

How does the design complement your displays in the museum?
 
The design of the exhibition space in the museum is especially suitable for all-encompassing installations such as TeamLab, and Studio Drift’s, which will open on 6 March. It will also be interesting to see how more traditional art works in the space that we have – an exhibition of paintings by the surrealist René Magritte opens this month. We are not planning to show old masters here; instead they will be in Amos Anderson’s residence, which will reopen in a couple of years.

What is in the collection?

The Amos Rex collection, which came together under the auspices of the Amos Anderson Art Museum, is one of the best collections of Finnish art from the second half of the 20th century. A gem on permanent display is the Frosterus collection of international post-impressionist painting. Amos Anderson’s small personal collection of old master works is also important to us.

What are the highlights of your 2019 programme?
 
This month we’re opening Finland’s first ever Magritte exhibition. In March it will be joined by the experimental Dutch group Studio Drift. During the summer there will be the Nordic contemporary group show of the Ars Fennica art prize, featuring Ragnar Kjartansson and Egill Saebjörnsson from Iceland, Miriam Bäckström from Sweden, Aurora Reinhard and Petri Ala-Maunus from Finland. And then in October we will open an exhibition on the pioneer of Finnish Modernism, Birger Carlstedt, which will display work from our own collections.

How does Amos Rex fit into the Helsinki cultural scene?
 
In a way, Amos Rex was the missing piece of the jigsaw, bringing together all the neighbouring art museums and cultural institutions into a great multi-faceted cluster in the centre of Helsinki.

How has the museum been received?

In terms of visitors to the museum, we were deliberately very cautious with projected figures. We were talking about 100,000 visitors during the opening year, but we opened on 30 August 2018 and in mid-December we were up to 210,000 visitors. In terms of the idea for Amos Rex, it was well received from the moment we launched the project. The fact that it was privately financed, without recourse to taxpayers, certainly helped. People missed having the square while the museum was under construction, but the vast majority seem to think that the result was worth the wait and the inconvenience.

Miles Rowland is a freelance writer

www.amosrex.fi

Kai Kartio is the director and chief executive of Amos Rex. He ran the previous incarnation of the museum, the Amos Anderson Museum, from 2001 until its closure in 2017

• Cost €50m
• Architect JKMM Architects
• Project management Haahtela-rakennuttaminen
• Structural design Sipti
• Structural design of the domes Sweco Rakennetekniikka
• Electrical engineering Ramboll Talotekniikka
• Acoustics Ins.tsto Heikki Helimäki Ltd; Helimäki Akustikot
• Fire consultant L2 Paloturvallisuus
• Exhibitions Magritte – Life Line, 8 Feb–19 May; Studio Drift, 6 March–19 May 2019
• Admission Adult €18; Concessions €5; Under 18s Free