henning larsen architects: umea art museum

‘umeå art museum’ by henning larsen architects, umeå, sweden

all images courtesy of henning larsen architects

located in a university town in sweden, the umea art museum is part of a greater complex of artistic institutes and exhibition facilities. the collaboration between danish firm henning larsen architects and white arkitekter is an endeavor of ambition; the building seeks to put into dialogue art, design and architecture so as to secure umea as a site of critical creative discourse. the museum is unique in its tower-like form, creating a protruding silhouette by the umeälven river. large, square exhibition spaces are free of structural elements and plentiful in glazing so as to allow ample natural light to filter through the space. while the interiors provide a tabula rasa to accomodate the ever-changing programs of both contemporary and historically significant art, the exterior maintains an aesthetic character that is at once warm and replete with material dynamism. the arts campus buildings, comprised of the academy of fine arts, the institute of design and the new school of architecture, are clad in vertical louvres of siberian larch with a multiplicity of directional grain. the verticality of the facade is broken only by the rhythm of large windows and a glass middle floor. the museum is a publicly accessible and forges a landmark for interdisciplinary study to proliferate.