Vellamo

A giant wave standing on an old dock in the Finnish town of Kotka houses the Maritime Museum of Finland. Vellamo is by the architectural firm Lahdelma & Mahlamäki a competition winning entry from 2005 built in 2008.

The conceit of building a boat museum as a massive wave has paid off here really clearly. The sculptural form engages with the site and makes internally a straightforward organisational base for a multidimensional museum.

Vellamo is named after the Finnish mythological goddess of water, lakes and the seas and the finnish verb "velloa," means the movement of water. So the name is well chosen.

Exterior metal panels in the colour of the sea and glass panels presenting historical subjects clad the exterior almost like scales and the form rises and finishes in a way that really is reminiscent of a wave except its rising to meet the sea, something I like very much.

The Interior of curved timber panels and wooden floor builds as you progress through the museum.

The building has 1,960,000 kg of steel structures, its total length is 300 metres and its highest point is 30 metres above ground level. The total area of the building is 14,366 m², of which 4,600 m2 is exhibition space. Information Centre Vellamo’s 500 m² contain around 20,000 books and 3,500 volumes of newspapers and magazines.

⚲ location:60°28'21.6"N 26°56'42.1"E