Over the next two and a half years, the Alvar Aalto Museum and the Museum of Central Finland will together create a new museum centre in Jyväskylä’s Ruusupuisto neighbourhood. The museum centre will encompass two separate museums: The Alvar Aalto Museum is the nationally designated museum of Alvar Aalto’s heritage of architecture and design. The Museum of Central Finland is the designated regional museum of Central Finland.
Together these two museums form a new museum hub focused on cultural heritage, the cultural environment, architecture, and design.
Alvar Aalto, who designed both museum buildings, envisioned connecting them as early as the 1970s. Aalto’s long-standing dream will now be brought to fruition, as a new extension wing connecting the two museums will commence construction in the summer of 2021. The new museum centre offers a new dimension in which to develop high-quality exhibitions and events. In addition, the adjoining wing will enable the museums to share functions such as a museum shop as well as cafeteria and restaurant services.
Thus, 2023 will see the opening of an interesting, attractive, and unique museum hub, more than the sum of its parts.
The project has received Museum Vision grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation.