GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM HELSINKI

GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM HELSINKI GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM HELSINKI GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM HELSINKI GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM HELSINKI GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM HELSINKI GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM HELSINKI GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM HELSINKI GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM HELSINKI GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM HELSINKI GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM HELSINKI GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM HELSINKI

On 20, Dec 2015 | In | By PAR

The Guggenheim Museum Helsinki, located on a prominent waterfront site, is a gathering of eight soft volumes of varying sizes and undulating heights that reflect the Helsinki skyline and surrounding waters. The volumes lightly intersect with one another leading to a collection of spaces with soft connections to all sides. The resulting institution is a unique, transparent, and light building, clustered in between the park, water and historic city center and immediately visible to visitors arriving by sea. All city traffic is directed along the Laivasillankatu with the drop off and bus zone concentrated along the North and South edges. The plan’s openness connects with the context while the central plaza maintains public waterfront access from the park.

Breaking up the museum into smaller pieces, we avoid blocking site lines while creating programmatic specificity. Further opening up the site, visually and physically, central volumes are elevated and translucent, introducing a public void in between the galleries. The volumes sit at angles to one another and overlap at the corners to link lobby, exhibition spaces, amenities and service areas within the museum. Translucent mesh drapes from the edges of the roofs to create curving curtains that spatially define and lighten the building. The curtains conceal elevated walkways, connecting to viewing terraces that look onto the complex and the city at large. Visitors enter through access points into a large plaza in the centre of the complex. A grand circulation loop connects all public spaces with galleries while alternate paths integrate outdoor sculpture gardens into the visitor experience. Positioned at interstitial spaces between inside and out, terraces are protected from the harsh Helsinki climate. Oriented toward sky and vistas, terraces offer unparalleled all-season event spaces.

Type: Cultural
Location: Helsinki, FI
Completion: 2014, Competition
Area: 12,100 m2
Client: Guggenheim Foundation
Engineer: Arup
Environmental: Arup
Architect: Jennifer Marmon, Partner In Charge; Robert Mojica, Project Architect; Team: Victor Gonzalez, Thao Trinh, Austin Morgan, Liz Van Dyke