THE Beach and Arctic Garden
In front Arktikum, on the shoreline of the Ounasjoki river, lies the Arctic Garden, one of Rovaniemi’s most picturesque parks. About seven hectares in size and situated on a small island, the arboretum park displays a variety of plant species and alpine vegetation that have uniquely adapted to the harsh northern climate of Lapland and the Arctic.
The Arctic Garden is maintained by the University of Lapland. Here, you will also find copies of ancient runestones, as well as sculptor and artist Risto Immonen’s work ”Nätti-Jussi”, inspired by the legendary local lumberjack Johan Viktor Nätti (1890–1964).
In the summer, the midnight sun shines its light on Arktikum Beach from the north, providing an ideal spot for picnics or enjoying a refreshing swim. As summer gives way to autumn and winter, days get shorter nights get longer. During the darker periods, Arktikum Beach is a great spot to view the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights. In winter, the garden is covered with snow and serves mainly as a walking route and a place to spend time.
ArCHITECTURE
Arktikum was opened to the public on Finland’s 75th Independence Day, 6 December 1992. The architectural competition for Arktikum was won by the Danish architectural firm Birch-Bonderup & Thorup-Waade, whose idea was to utilize the natural resources of Lapland in the building: the floor materials are granite from Perttaus and Lapland pine with old lime treatments. The chairs are a combination of birch and reindeer hide. The extension of Arktikum was opened in September 1997.
The visible part of the Arktikum building, the so-called “glass tube”, is 172 metres long in total and is interrupted by the 30-metre-wide Kittilä highway. The tube contains about a thousand pieces of two-square-metre special glass panes. The glass is tempered on the outside, making it impact resistant. On the inside, the glass is laminated, which means that if it breaks, it crumbles into small pieces, and does not endanger people below.
The exhibition spaces are located entirely underground. The underground spaces of the building equal the size of the Rovaniemi City Hall. The floor of the 1st floor of the building is located 20 centimetres above the maximum flood water level, and the basement is located below the water level during floods. The pool is lined with watertight moraine, and the walls of the building are made of 50 centimetres thick concrete. If the maximum flood exceeds the calculated safety height, the Arktikum building can still withstand a 70-centimetre-high flood. In this case, almost the entire Saarenkylä district of Rovaniemi would already be flooded.
