- Together with Gösta Serlachius existing museum, the extension proposal as its counterpart turns Joenniemi into a compound experience of art and landscape that emphasizes the features of both the site and the building. The new museum extension has a generous footprint, although it doesn’t compete with the existing wing in terms of mass, and it doesn’t obstruct the views towards and from the lake. A number of gentle recesses and projections of the building envelope helps creating an expressive facade progression. Being both light and sturdy in appearance, the new building integrates a respectful relationship between its stereotomic shape and the environment. It emerges from the ground as a monolith with a crisp roof whose task it is to convey light into the interior. A welcoming architecture gesture on the garden-roof that evokes the pitched roof of the manor is created that indicates the access point to the entrance foyer. Once inside the building, an imposing stair descends into the heart of the building where a triple height foyer overlooks the lake. Other views towards the lake have been designed in the restaurant and the corridors to establish a strong link with nature. The new extension is a detached mass from the existing building, so the manor envelope has been left intact; only the easternmost rooms and ceiling portions of the manor have been modified to allow the creation of a generously proportioned stairwell that leads the visitor to and from the existing building. Date: 2011 Place: Mänttä-Vilppula, Finland Client: Serlachius Museum Programme: Museum extension Net area: 4k sqm Phase: Competition Cost: 15m€