Designed by a Finn (4W)

The view from KUMU courtyard towards the building

The view from KUMU top exhition floor towards the city of Tallinn (in bad weather!)

KUnstiMUseeum (KUMU) was a result of an open international architectural competition that was held in 93-94, in which architects from ten countries took part. The winner of the competition was the Finnish architect Pekka Vapaavuori. Construction started in 2002 and the Kumu Art Museum was opened to the visitors in February 2006.

The new museum site is located on four hectares in Tallinn, on the limestone bank of Lasnamägi next to Kadriorg Park. The building has seven floors (including technical floors) and the total area is 23 900 m². It is a modern multifunctional art building, which contains exhibition halls, a lecture hall offering diverse facilities, and an educational centre for young visitors and art lovers. The scale difference between the new building and the surrounding old villas (Russian type) is vast. You kind of wonder if the building should have been located outside Tallinn - but for the visitors like us the distance from the Vana Tallinn is walkable - even if it's raining cats & dogs (+ all sort of animals).