In the city of Tampere, with about 230,000 inhabitants and located in the region of Pirkanmaa in Western Finland, lies Noah — the proposal for the new Art Museum that will host the collection of the Sara Hildén Foundation. Situated on the banks of the Tammerkoski Rapids, between lakes Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi, Tampere retains a rich tradition of industrial craftsmanship deeply linked to the production of fine fabrics, paper, timber, and metals. As in the whole Scandinavian region, here too the achievements of the past related to wooden construction have played an important role, strongly shaping the historical and imaginary identity of the place. From the Stavkirker, through large shipbuilding traditions, to the smallest and humblest wooden houses painted in punamulta, it is easy to trace a living link with the past that endures to this day. This historical vision — rooted in the deeper meaning of progress and aimed at the enhancement of local know-how and craftsmanship — should be understood as a critical approach to interpreting the proposal: the means through which the oneiric dimension of a space that is at once construction, structure, and tectonics of its elements becomes a project. Extending over an area of about 4,000 square meters, Noah has been designed to house one of the largest and most significant collections in Finland — including, to date, about 4,600 works by masters of Finnish painting and sculpture such as Kimmo Kaivanto, Kauko Lehtinen, Kain Tapper, and Helene Schjerfbeck, as well as other renowned international artists including Christo, Josef Albers, Giacometti, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Paul Klee, Joan Miró, De Chirico, Giorgio Morandi, and Pablo Picasso. The architecture proposed for the Sara Hildén Art Museum is composed of three large timber naves, stacked one atop the other. This structure, progressively projecting outward and designed to accommodate multiple configurations of the interior space, is suitable for exhibitions and artistic performances of any type or genre. The possibility of having large, unobstructed surfaces offers considerable advantages in relation to the variety and flexibility of the events that can be hosted within the space — whether characterized by small, medium, or large works, or requiring free heights of up to 14 meters. The large wooden “vessel,” with its three levels, conceptually rests on a concrete podium — a functional, massive volume containing, in addition to the technical compartments, all the spaces dedicated to reception, storage, conservation, preparation, and examination of the artworks. On the western side of the podium, the entrance is marked by the excavation of a monumental staircase that leads visitors directly into the foyer, connecting Finlaysoninkatu Street to the panoramic terrace overlooking Wilhelm von Nottbeck Park. The first level contains the ticket office, cloakroom, workshop, multifunctional and meeting space, shop, and café which, on sunny days, naturally extends onto the terrace outside. At the same level, a large spiral staircase, positioned along the central axis of the upper galleries, leads visitors to the second and third floors, where permanent and temporary exhibitions take place. Particular attention was given to the design of light. The large north and south façades, extending for about 80 meters, are defined by a frame of double posts. Within this frame, a system of composite fabric panels mounted on a movable, vertically folding steel frame is superimposed over large thermal-break windows. The panels act as adaptive shading devices and natural light filters, covered in Bordeaux-red fabric reminiscent of punamulta. The volume is thus perfectly integrated within the chromatic context of the surrounding urban fabric and assumes — by analogy with the industrial identity of the area — the visionary image of a great machine, one might even say Miyazakian, placed in diachronic continuity with the urban functions that once characterized the project site. It distinguishes itself as an exception and, paradoxically, in contrast with the prevailing international style of contemporary architecture, adopting a posture of discontinuity with the present while seeking a bond of continuity with the past.
