GUGGENHEIM,seeing through contemporary architecture, FI

This international art institution needs no introduction, and with such a dominant reputation, there was a risk of it overshadowing the existing urban context. Instead, a clever play on inward and outward motion connects it to rather than contrasts it with a formerly neglected waterfront area of the city.

This international art institution needs no introduction, and with such a dominant reputation, there was a risk of it overshadowing the existing urban context. Instead, a clever play on inward and outward motion connects it to rather than contrasts it with a formerly neglected waterfront area of the city.

The position of the various entrances creates flow, the visitors to the museum forming spirals that are shaped by the architecture. The offset cylinders, piled up end on end, emphasise the force of this flow still further. Whether approached from the sea, the park, the quayside, the market or the surrounding roads, the museum has the same powerful, expressive fluidity. Never static, never still. Arranged to delineate the spaces within, the cylinders seem ever in flux, so as visitors approach or journey through the building, the spaces never seem the same twice. By reclaiming these forgotten public spaces, this configuration knits the threads of urban fabric back together again. The museum stands on a plinth, raised up to become both a viewpoint and a landmark within the city. This new building embraces the local community and the Helsinki skyline while providing a public space for planned events and spontaneous strolls. The neutrality of the burnt wood cladding affirms the museum’s strong Finnish identity while providing much-needed resistance to the ravages of the local climate. The ground floor, which is open to the public, is both connected to the city and the start of the museum experience. Here, art is to be experienced and understood. It invites visitors to venture further into the various galleries of the museum which are arranged around it. Each level of the museum offers unique views of Helsinki, enabling visitors to not only admire the cityscape, but situate the building in their mind’s eye of the city .