Global Design Talent Sought for Helsinki's New Museum of Architecture and Design: International Open Competition Launched
International open competition launched to find a design team for the new museum of architecture and design in Helsinki, Finland
Photographer: Sami Saastamoinen / Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design
The Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design, Real Estate Company ADM, the City of Helsinki and SAFA the Finnish Association of Architects have launched an international, open design competition to find a design team for a new 10,050 sq m (GFA) museum building in Helsinki’s South Harbour.
The new museum of architecture and design in Helsinki, Finland, is planned to open in 2030 and will combine the Museum of Finnish Architecture and Design Museum Helsinki. These institutions were successfully merged in January 2024, and the new museum will retain and grow the staff of both its predecessors.
The central mission of the new museum will be “democratising the tools of design”, drawing on the history and present of Finnish and Nordic architecture and design to guide a programme of public activities that will look at how design thinking and skills are relevant to the challenges we face as individuals and societies in a rapidly changing world.
The newly-formed collection, focussed on Finnish architecture and design, will contain over 900,000 artefacts, including objects, correspondence, models and photographs documenting the work of internationally-famed practitioners such as Aino and Alvar Aalto, Eero Aarnio, Maija Isola, Eliel and Eero Saarinen, Paavo Tynell, and design brands such as Marimekko, Nokia and Fiskars.
The new museum is made possible through significant public and private funding. In February 2024, The Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design announced that it had secured €120 million in public funding, half from the City of Helsinki and half from the State of Finland, to bring this new building project forward. This is supplemented by €30 million to be raised from private donors, with a €20 million donation secured from the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation.
Photographer: Sami Saastamoinen / Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design
The competition is organized by the Real Estate Company ADM, owned by the City of Helsinki and the State of Finland and the Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design, in collaboration with the City of Helsinki and the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA). Strategic partners for the museum project are DVDL Cultural Planners (New York) and Haahtela Group.
An online seminar, open to all interested participants, will be held on 24 April 2024. Details and instruction on joining the seminar can be found at the competition website, alongside the competition brief: https://www.admuseo.fi/competition
The Competition Jury:
Photographer: Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design
Chair: Mikko Aho, Architect SAFA, Vice Chair of Real Estate Company ADM
Vice Chair: Juha Lemström, Architect SAFA, Chair of Real Estate Company ADM
Gus Casely-Hayford, Director, V&A East
Beatrice Galilee, Architect, Executive Director, The World Around
Kaarina Gould, CEO, Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design
Salla Hoppu, Architect SAFA, Leading Architect, City of Helsinki
Beate Hølmebakk, Architect, Professor, Partner, Manthey Kula Architects
Riitta Kaivosoja, Director General, Ministry of Education and Culture, Department for Art and Cultural Policy
Matti Kuittinen, Architect, Associate Professor, Aalto University
Miklu Silvanto, Designer, AD Museum Ltd. (Member of the Board)
Anni Sinnemäki, Deputy Mayor for Urban Environment, City of Helsinki
Sari Nieminen, Architect SAFA, Architectural Office Sari Nieminen
Hannu Tikka, Architect SAFA, Professor, APRT Architects
Eligibility Requirements in Stage 1 of the competition
Stage 1 of the competition (April 15–August 29, 2024) is open to individuals and design teams with the following eligibility criteria:
The lead designer must present the following personal qualifications:
A completed university level master’s degree in architecture
Confirm that they have the right to practise as an architect in their country of residence.
The person must be a resident of European Union countries or a resident of countries that are parties to The WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA 2012). You may check: https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/gproc_e/memobs_e.htm
The design teams may also welcome members from countries that do not fall under the scope of the European Union and its procurement legislation.
Kaarina Gould, CEO of The Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design, said:
“Finland has a rich and fascinating history of design that is deeply embedded in both our national identity and our living culture. That culture is expressed fully in Helsinki – a former World Design Capital, where public policy and private enterprise have worked together to build a knowledge economy based upon high-value, innovative activities that have design thinking at their heart. “
“We want to democratise the tools of design. The new museum of architecture and design will engage the public in activities and experiences that broaden the understanding of design as a tool that empowers people to participate actively as citizen designers. Successful designs for the museum will need to embrace and advance the model of the museum as a site for active engagement with ideas and practice, as much as for the display and interpretation of artefacts.”
Mikko Aho, Chair of the competition Jury and Vice Chair of Real Estate Company ADM, said:
“Helsinki has an international reputation for architecture and design that reflects the strong belief in good design as a means for living well that is present in all Nordic societies. We’re delighted to launch this international open competition to find an architect for the new museum of architecture and design. The open competition is a strong component of the tradition of architecture in Finland that opens the commission up to exciting concepts from designers at any stage in their career – from undiscovered talent to established names.
“This new museum will enhance Helsinki’s global profile as a capital of design by placing the subject at the heart of the urban renewal of the South Harbour, one of the city’s most significant waterfront sites. We’re delighted to bring this project forward to create social benefits, provide new employment, attract international visitors and generate commerce in Helsinki.”
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