PROJECT 121

"UMEA ART MUSEUM"

Henning Larsen Architects

The Art Museum, Bildmuseet, at Umeå University is situated at the new Arts Campus by the Umeälven river. The campus also comprises the Academy of Fine Arts, the Institute of Design and the new School of Architecture.

The consolidation of artistic institutes and exhibition facilities is based on a close collaboration between various companies with a view to allow art, design and architecture to benefit from one another. Umeå's position as a centre of art and education is strenghtened with a new silhouette by the river.

In its previous facilities, the museum has displayed international contemporary art and classic art-historical exhibitions side by side since 1981. The new museum more than doubles the exhibition area and, with its protruding, visible location by the river, it will become a new landmark in the area. 

The tower comprises three exhibition halls placed upon each other - with inserted floor plans featuring the auditorium, children’s workshops and administration. The large, square exhibition halls are free from structural elements and offer ample daylight, let in through niches in the facade. This creates a vibrant and dynamic framework for the various exhibitions. As the other buildings at the Arts Campus, the facade features vertical louvre panelling in Siberian larch, which supports the verticality of the building - only broken by the large windows and the glass floor in the middle.