£14m project will create new exhibition space and visitor facilities
Danish practice Erik Møller Arkitekter has been appointed to carry out a radical modernisation of Alvar Aalto’s Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Denmark.
The white marble building in Aalborg is the only museum designed by Aalto outside his native Finland.
He conceived the organic modernist design in collaboration with Elissa Aalto and Jean-Jacques Baruël in 1957.
The £14 million project will restore and modernise the listed museum as well as inserting a new 600sq m exhibition space in its basement.
Trine Neble of Erik Møller Arkitekter said: “We want to maintain Aalto and Baruël’s architectural vision for the building, both inside and out. That means that all surfaces and details will be retained or recycled, wherever possible. On one hand, it is cheaper and more sustainable to reuse existing resources. On the other hand, the minimal extension will leave the listed building as it was originally conceived.”
The practice, whose previous renovation projects include the Royal Danish Theatre and Amalienborg, the principal residence of the Danish monarch, has been briefed to create a modern, highly efficient museum within the existing framework.
Work is due to begin on June 1 and be completed in late 2015.
The museum is special in both cultural and architectural terms, said Jesper Dahl, from the Danish Agency for Culture which is scrutinising the work.
“It is an exceptional Danish testimony to Alvar Aalto’s masterful treatment of space, form, light and materials for a solid-cast modernist structure,” he said.
“So, it is a major and exciting challenge for the Danish Agency for Culture to be involved in updating the museum’s facilities while, at the same time, protecting its overall listed values, including preservation of its characteristic details and use of space.”
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