Curators have received 623 competition entries for the new Museum of Architecture and Design in Helsinki, one of the most sought after architecture commissions in the world today. Between three and five designs will be shortlisted for the competition’s second phase slated to be announced in December.
The international competition was launched in April, as reported by AN. The Museum of Architecture and Design will be built in Helsinki’s South Harbor on the same site where Guggenheim Helsinki was to be constructed. Moreau Kusunoki, a Paris office, won that competition in 2015, but the building never materialized due to funding issues, namely a lack of private investment and concerns that Finnish taxpayers would have to shoulder the costs.
Like the Guggenheim Helsinki competition (which received 1,715 bids) in 2014, the 623 bids are now available online in a publicly accessible gallery. The submissions are listed without their architect’s name attached, so it’s impossible to know which architect submitted which project, but it’s safe to assume some of the most prominent names in architecture are in there somewhere. This approach fits will within the curatorial team’s goal of “democratising the tools of design.”
“The competition brief for Finland’s new National Museum of Architecture and Design is an ambitious vision that embraces the museum’s civic role in democratizing access to the tools of design,” Kaarina Gould, CEO of the Finnish Architecture and Design Museum Foundation, said in a statement.
“We seek an architecturally unique building that meets high sustainability goals while being a welcoming and inspiring space—an active hub of engagement and creativity for many, and a place of calm and reflection for others,” Gould continued. “The jury has been deeply impressed by the thoughtful and innovative interpretations from architects and creative teams on how the new museum can best serve our communities.”
Upon completion, in 2030, the Museum of Architecture and Design will contain invaluable treasures. It will combine the existing Museum of Finnish Architecture and Design Museum Helsinki.
The new centralized hub will have more than 900,000 artifacts including objects, correspondence, models, and photographs from acclaimed designers like Aino and Alvar Aalto, Eero Aarnio, Maija Isola, Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Paavo Tynell; and design brands such as Marimekko, Nokia and Fiskars.
The Museum of Architecture and Design anticipates a shortlist to be announced in December, with the second phase of the competition to begin in February 2025, followed by the naming of the winning commission in September 2025. The museum hopes to open its door to the public in 2030.
