It’s been a little more than a year since the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation launched an open, international competition for the design of a proposed Guggenheim in Helsinki, back on June 7, 2014. Today, the foundation announced that the winning design—selected from more than 1,700 entries—is the one by Parisian firm Moreau Kusunoki Architectes.
Midway through the competition, the jury narrowed the field down to six finalists and released the designs to the public while the firms behind them were kept anonymous. A campaign encouraged the public to vote for their favorite by using a specially engineered appthat matched a user’s personality with a building design.
The winning design by Moreau Kusunuki “invites visitors to engage with museum artwork and programs across a gathering of linked pavilions and plazas organized around an interior street,” according to a Guggenheim Foundation statement.
Locally sourced charred timber and glass will clad the exterior. The entire building is composed of nine low-lying volumes and one lighthouse-like tower. A nearby observatory park will be connected to the museum by a pedestrian footbridge.
“Moreau Kusunoki has titled its proposal ‘Art in the City,’ a name that sums up the qualities the jury admired in the design,” said jury chair Mark Wigley, professor and dean emeritus of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. “The waterfront, park, and nearby urban area all have a dialogue with the loose cluster of pavilions, with people and activities flowing between them. The design is imbued with a sense of community and animation that matches the ambitions of the brief to honor both the people of Finland and the creation of a more responsive museum of the future."
The winning firm, with Nicolas Moreau and Hiroko Kusunoki seated second from left and center
Related Stories
| Oct 10, 2014
A new memorial by Zaha Hadid in Cambodia departs from the expected
The project sees a departure from Hadid’s well-known use of concrete, fiberglass, and resin. Instead, the primary material will be timber, curved and symmetrical like the Angkor Wat and other Cambodian landmarks.
| Sep 25, 2014
Jean Nouvel unveils plans for National Art Museum of China
Of the design, Nouvel describes it as inspired by the simplicity of “a single brush stroke.”
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 24, 2014
Frank Gehry's first building in Latin America will host grand opening on Oct. 2
Gehry's design for the Biomuseo, or Museum of Biodiversity, draws inspiration from the site's natural and cultural surroundings, including local Panamaian tin roofs.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.
| Sep 22, 2014
Biloxi’s new Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum is like a ship in a bottle
Nine years after the Museum of Maritime and Seafood Industry in Biloxi, Miss., was damaged by Hurricane Katrina’s 30-foot tidal surge, the museum reopened its doors in a brand new, H3-designed building.
| Sep 22, 2014
Sound selections: 12 great choices for ceilings and acoustical walls
From metal mesh panels to concealed-suspension ceilings, here's our roundup of the latest acoustical ceiling and wall products.
| Sep 16, 2014
Shigeru Ban’s design wins Tainan Museum of Fine Arts competition
Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban has won an international competition organized by The Tainan Museum of Art in Taiwan. Ban's design features cascading volumes with an auditorium, classrooms, and exhibition galleries.
| Sep 15, 2014
Ranked: Top international AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Parsons Brinckerhoff, Gensler, and Jacobs top BD+C's rankings of U.S.-based design and construction firms with the most revenue from international projects, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 15, 2014
Argentina reveals plans for Latin America’s tallest structure
Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announces the winning design by MRA+A Álvarez | Bernabó | Sabatini for the capital's new miexed use tower.
