The assigned site of the Guggenheim Helsinki competition is located in the Eteläsatama (South Harbor) area of the city, an urban space of great national and cultural significance. It forms the symbolic gateway to the city from the sea. The relationship between Tahtitornin Vuori Park, the south harbour waterfront and the historic city centre, currently separated by Laivasillankatu, a main access road to the commercial Olympia Terminal, needed to be rekindled.
The proposed scheme’s massing is, therefore, carrying the park across the road onto the waterfront and looking at the historic city centre in one distinctive gesture. Views from the city and of the city shape the arms of the museum, which gently slope guiding the public from the park onto the water-front. The Guggenheim Helsinki will incorporate some traditional functions of an art museum while pushing the boundaries of process, presentation, and audience engagement. The museum, therefore, proposes a variety of interconnected spaces capable of accommodating both indoor and outdoor exhibitions.
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Client: Guggenheim Museum
Credits: Jeannie S. Lee, Andrea Panizzo, Simone Pagani, Edoardo Paoletti, Gianluca Stefani, Radim Tkadlec.