The Chappe Art House opened to the public in April 2023 in the historical cultural quarter of Tammisaari. It is a new three-storey house designed by the Helsinki-based studio JKMM Architects, which won the design competition organised by Albert de la Chapelle Art Foundation. The house is connected to the existing old wooden buildings of the regional Raseborg Museum through the underground gallery.
Chappe's abstract, geometric shapes – part black box, part shiny periscope protruding above the building's roofline – seemingly contrast with its picturesque surroundings in the well-preserved historic village of Tammisaari in southern Finland. The black spruce-clad elevations of the new building refer to traditional Finnish wooden architecture.
On the ground floor, the key spaces are the main entrance and a generous multi-purpose foyer. The requirement for the ground floor glazing was the security burglar-proof glass with the P6B resistance class to manual attack according to EN 356. This requirement was fulfilled by Pilkington Optilam™ OW 15,04 extra clear laminated glass.
The main exhibition galleries are located on the top of the building on level two. All the window openings, some of them quite large in dimensions, create a line of sight and frame the view of the sky and rooflines around the facility, the gardens outside the museum, and the water in the distance. They connect the visitor with the landscape in every place.
Pilkington Optiwhite™ extra-clear glass was the substrate for all coated glass used for window glazing. This allowed to maximize light transmittance, brightness, and colour neutrality.
To achieve the required level of solar control, triple insulating glass units were made of Pilkington Suncool™ 70/35 OW high-performance solar control glass. On the other hand, a high level of thermal insulation was achieved with Pilkington Optitherm™ S1N OW low emissivity glass. In all locations where safety glass was specified, laminated versions i.e., Pilkington Suncool Optilam™ 70/35 OW 12,8 and Pilkington Optilam™ Therm S1N OW12,8, were used.
All triple glazed units for all external applications were manufactured by Lasiluoto Oy.