Amos Rex

Useful Information

Location:	()
Open:	All year Mon 11-18, Wed. Thu 1120, Fri 11-18, Sat, Sun 11-17. Last entry 30 m before closing. [2018]
Fee:	Adults EUR 18, Adults (18-29) EUR 5, Children (0-17) free, Students EUR 5, Seniors EUR 12. Reductions wit Museum Card, Helsinki Card, Danske Bank Mobile Pay. Groups (15+): Adults EUR 12. [2018]
Classification:	Museums
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	Ar=2,170 m².
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:	Yes
Bibliography:
Address:	Amos Rex (Lasipalatsi), Mannerheimintie 22–24, 00100 Helsinki, Tel: +358-9-6844-4633. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1936	Lasipalatsi built.
1998	building renovated.
2013	beginning of planning for underground museum.
2016	beginning of construction.
30-AUG-2018	opened to the public.

Description

In the center of Helsinki, the Capital of Finland, the Lasipalatsi (glass palace) is located at Lasipalatsi square. It was built by the young Finnish architects Viljo Revell, Heimo Riihimäki and Niilo Kokko. The building is fuctional with huge glass fronts, hence the name. It was used by shops, a cafe, a cinema named Bio Rex, and by the Finnish branch of Siemens. Designed as a temporary building, but the shops were quite popular and the building itself soon became a sort of cult object. The plans to tear down Lasipalatsi were postponed decade after decade, but it was also not renovated. In the 1980s it was in a very bad shape, but when this state was used as an excuse to finally tore it down, the tenants, the Helsinkians, and even the Museum Bureau supported its protection. Finally it was renovated and became a culture and media centre in 1998.

Twenty years later, the buildig was again undergoing extensive renovations. A new museum named Amos Rex, the name a combination of the cinema Bio Rex and the Amos Anderson Art Museum, was built under the Lasipalatsi square. Some parts of the museum are residing in Lasipalatsi, and the square was completely changed as it is now the roof of the museum with numerous windows allowing light to enter the underground structure. They also offer a free view into the current exhibition. A sort of obelisk like tower in the center of the square is the concealed air vent of the air conditioning system.

The Amos Rex art museum offers flexible and easily adaptable exhibition spaces as well as an art workshop dedicated to children and youngsters. The exhibition programme will include the newest, often experimental, contemporary art but also 20th-century Modernism and ancient cultures. The museum is a part of the Amos Anderson Art Museum, which since 1965 has been Helsinki’s leading private museum. The cinema is now part of the museum and is used for cross-disciplinary activities, film festivals and regular film screenings on weekends. During the week it is available to rent for events.

The underground museum was designed by the architectural firm JKMM from Helsinki. They tried to preserve as much of the old building and used contemporry materials and designs.