Arktikum
Museum and science centre on the Ounasjoki, built around a long glass tube, covering Lapland and the Arctic.
Arktikum opened in December 1992 beside the Ounasjoki in Rovaniemi, a town rebuilt after 1944 to a plan by Alvar Aalto. The Danish practice Birch-Bonderup & Thorup-Waade won an open competition with a design that buries most of the floor area under a grass bank and runs a glass tube nearly 172 metres north towards the river. The tube acts as a daylit spine and a viewing gallery, with the exhibition wings set on either side of it.
The building houses two institutions. The Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland occupies one side with its science centre exhibition on Arctic environments, climate and northern peoples, while the Regional Museum of Lapland occupies the other with displays on the region's history, settlement and nature. Temporary exhibitions, a short film on the Arctic seasons and a section on Petsamo, Finland's former Arctic Ocean coast, complete the programme. A café, shop and auditorium sit under the glass tube.
Highlights
- Glass tube nearly 172 metres long running towards the Ounasjoki
- Arctic Centre science exhibition on climate and northern peoples
- Regional Museum of Lapland displays on local history and nature
- Section on Petsamo, Finland's Arctic Ocean coast from 1920 to 1944
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