Competition entry at first, Ocean North’s design for Jyväskylä Music and Art Center was later, in phase 02, redesigned for Venice Architectural Biennale. Second phase was a joined venture of Ocean North and Achim Menges, researcher and professor at the University of Stuttgart where he is the founding director of the Institute for Computational Design, and it retained the principle design ideas of the competition scheme, while redefining its spatial, geometric, material and ambient articulation.

The aim of the project was to generate differentiated event space as well as the extension of the landscaped town square into an animated interior multi-purpose landscape space that serves for formal and orchestral events, art exhibitions and less formal cultural activities. The structure of the interior and the surfaces that articulate it are derived through iterative growth processes, informed by performance requirements.

The design works in a synergy of various systems and is thoughtfully analyzed – structural and luminous performance analysis was conducted repeatedly, to evaluate the emerging conditions and synergies between the various systems that generate the project. Spatial and ambient differentiation of the scheme evolves from the differential density and angular variation of the lattice systems and the varied distribution of sound-active elements. The users can choose between varieties of micro-environmental conditions.

The envelope that wraps the center is layered and consists of a transparent and reflective skin. Its reflection and transparency is affected by exterior and interior light conditions while the density and layering of the lattices, and the surfaces and volumes that evolve from it result in the perception of a locally differentiated, yet vast space.