Designed by UA Studio 7

Project Director: Shi Zesong

Project leader: Zhou Jungang

Team members: Cai Yanhong, Yan Xuehua, Ma Zhenlong, Ioana, Vlad, Lin Lin, Weng Tongrun, Ma Xin

Client: Guggenheim Helsinki Supporting Foundation

Status: competition

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Year: 2014

Type: Cultural

The Guggenheim Museum Helsinki is intended to respond to two important challenges: (1) become one of the major icons of the city without disrupting the traditional order of the harbor and (2) respond to the evolving roles and functions of an art museum in the coming decades, thus attempting a new programmatic approach.

None of the existing Guggenheim Museums have the appearance of regular buildings, (with common walls, staircases and windows) and we consider that this tradition of questioning the structure and spatial organization should be continued for the Helsinki project.

In a city of straight and subtle curved lines (Alvar Aalto), the new landmark is a sculptural object that references more the natural than the built context. Considering also its remarkable location, the project becomes a visible ‘object’ and a key point of the shoreline. The curved lines and the appearance of a natural element that emerges from the landscape make it an autonomous structure that does not challenge or block the existing landmarks of the city or the current line of the harbor. Its profile references the waterfront, with a minimal disruption of the cityscape.

In designing the public plaza and waterfront landscape it was emphasized the access from the city center and Lavasilta Park as well as the continuity of pedestrian and bike routes and the enhancement of the existing network of green public spaces and plazas. The architecture becomes part of the city life, the support for active interaction and experiments rather than a standard cultural building.

The waterfront side will become a display platform for new sustainable technologies. Solar, wind or human powered regenerative equipment and sustainable energy floors will power the multi-media, entertainment and art installations. The interaction with sustainable art will rise awareness and bring people together. The museum and the adjacent public space would play a formative role in enhancing the public’s understanding of renewable resources and systems applied to art installations, and will be a model for responsible and environmentally sensitive development.

The building’s exterior is covered in Finnish wood plates. This opaque exterior shell ensures minimal heat loss while the continuous skylights that split the volume into 2 twisting surfaces, allow inside the natural light from the low northern sun. The 2 skylights that go along the building provide natural diffused illumination to the main interior hall and highlight the bridges connecting the galleries.

Together with the landscape design, the architecture is intended to create an inspirational visitor experience and stimulate curiosity and inquiry.