This project presents the museum as a place within the fabric of the city, creating a 21st century commons at the intersection of local place and global culture, open and accessible for local residents and international visitors alike to experience the museum as part of everyday life. The traditional museum programs are organized around an central landscape that is the Culture Commons, a place connected to the surrounding city, the park, and the harbor while providing a center for urban life in Helsinki. With an envelope of glass, structure of wood, and local stone as the landscape, the building embodies and celebrates local materials and the geography and environment. The commons are the place where Guggenheim Foundation’s artistic investigations as well as cultural and historical cataloging and storytelling can be both an attraction to visitors from across the globe and a part of the everyday lives of the residents of Helsinki.
Status: Competition Entry
