All articles
Kaikki Artikkelit -kuvakeSulje Kaikki Artikkelit -kuvake
12/6/2024
Competition Brief Updated
Read article
Eteläranta view
9/6/2024
Competition Questions and Answers - Part Two
Read article
Eteläsatama
4/6/2024
Questions and answers will be published at the end of this week
Read article
A tram
24/5/2024
We Are Looking for a Chief Technology Officer Enthusiastic about the World's Best Museum
Read article
9/5/2024
Competition Questions and Answers - Part One
Read article
7/5/2024
Competition seminar dived deep into the competition brief - watch the recording
Read article
26/4/2024
Competition seminar recording will be published soon
Read article
21/4/2024
Competition seminar held on April 24
Read article
15/4/2024
Open, International Competition Launched for the New Museum of Architecture and Design
Read article
15/2/2024
Q&A – Learn More About the Upcoming Design Competition
Read article
15/2/2024
City of Helsinki Announces Funding for New Museum of Architecture and Design – Design Competition to Commence in April
Read article
4/10/2023
New company established to continue the missions of the Museum of Finnish Architecture and Design Museum
Read article
16/3/2023
New Museum of Architecture & Design in Helsinki receives donation from The Asahi Shimbun
Read article
16/3/2023
Decisions on the funding of the New Museum to be made during 2023
Read article
24/11/2022
‘Saaret’ Wins International Competition to Develop Makasiiniranta Shoreline
Read article
14/11/2022
Advisory Group Appointed for the New Museum of Architecture & Design
Read article
28/9/2022
Founding a New Institution: "What Is the River We Are Trying to Cross?"
Read article
5/9/2022
Real Estate Company ADM Founded for the AD Museum’s Construction Project
Read article
23/8/2022
Join the Conversation: New AD Museum and Open Design Professions
Read article
David van der Leer will moderate a conversation with panelists Liza Chong, Joseph Grima, and Zeynep Falay von Flittner.
6/7/2022
What's up with the New Museum of Architecture and Design?
Read article
4/7/2022
Future of South Harbour now open for comments
Read article
8/6/2022
"Helsinki is ready for more" – international partner sees a ton of potential in the museum
Read article
David van der Leer and Maria Budtz Sorensen of DVDL at the location for the future museum in Helsinki's South Harbour.
28/4/2022
Foundation for Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design established
Read article
Foundation for Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design was established at the Helsinki City Hall.
17/3/2022
Four proposals selected for the second phase of the Makasiiniranta competition
Read article
16/12/2021
Makasiiniranta’s international competition entries published
Read article
Helsinki South Harbour area
10/11/2021
New visual identity gives shape to the plans of a new museum
Read article
10/11/2021
Meet the project team
Read article
10/11/2021
Breaking the records – interview with the chair of the steering group, Timo Laitinen
Read article
10/11/2021
Towards a new museum – the histories of the Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Design Museum on display at the Design Museum in Helsinki
Read article
10/5/2021
Project leader Kaarina Gould: Museums can play a significant role in public discussion
Read article
8/4/2021
Exceptional financial basis raised for new architecture and design museum - at least 24 million euros of private funding
Read article
24/3/2021
Next steps for planning a new museum for architecture and design
Read article
Snowy Helsinki city viewed from the top
06.07.2022
What's up with the New Museum of Architecture and Design?
On June 14, the newly established Foundation for the New Museum of Architecture and Design hosted an open event in Helsinki to exchange ideas and learn about the current status of the initiative. The beautiful early summer’s day drew a diverse group of enthusiasts to the light-filled Sonck Hall, along with dozens of online participants. The crowd included experts of architecture, urban planning, design, and museum field, as well as other interested stakeholders, professionals, and citizens.

“How is the New Museum of Architecture and Design doing? – It’s doing well! A new foundation has been established, and many stakeholders are committed to making this into reality”, project director and CEO of the Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design, Kaarina Gould phrased.

“The Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design that was established in May began operations at the start of June. The new cooperation agreement between the city and state also outlines the plans for founding and funding a new real estate company which, in collaboration with the foundation, will develop the building for the new museum. This is a significant new commitment between the city and the state”, Gould shared.

The aim is to build the world’s leading museum of architecture and design in Helsinki. The public debate on the topic has mainly focused on the new museum building. The question, Gould pointed out, that is equally important, is what kind of an institution is in the makings.

Two existing museums, the Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Design Museum, will eventually merge into the new museum. Both museums currently operate on premises that were not originally intended for museums, and which do not fulfil today’s requirements for a museum experience. A new museum building is needed that can meet the expectations, and offer up-to-date experiences and services for its users.

“An important point to consider is how the new museum will serve as a platform for further development in the fields of architecture and design. From the viewpoint of sustainability, the core question is how to build up an organisation that is truly inclusive. This cannot be a feature sought outside, it must come from within. When considering who it is that receives an education in these fields, we encounter major structural questions”, Gould concluded her opening words.
An invitation “to just drop in – and experience”
Four professionals from various fields took part in the panel discussion at the event: curator and writer Nimco Kulmiye Hussein; entrepreneur, journalist, and project manager at Finnish Design Info, Katja Lindroos; Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra’s general manager Aleksi Malmberg, who has served as chair of the City of Helsinki’s Arts and Culture Vision Committee; and the vice president of the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA) Inari Virkkala.

The panellists contemplated the opportunities and desired focus points of the new museum from several angles. The discussion ranged from name proposals for the new museum to the networks that should be built around it. The panellists were presented with questions and comments both live and online.

The panellists, as well as the other participants, hoped to see the museum as a pacemaker for the fields of design and architecture in terms of content and quality, with an openness to as many audiences as possible. The world’s best museum should be developed through the best possible process.

“When entering the field of design, a global approach becomes mandatory almost immediately. The Finnish market is small. We can’t begin from an idea of our own excellence. Instead, we need to be able to present what we feel is important. There is an exciting difference at play, because when we highlight questions we see as crucial, we are inviting others to join. At the moment, we don’t yet possess the tools for the kind of international communication that would both be interactive in the truest sense, as well as inviting and welcoming”, Katja Lindroos formulated on the museum’s opportunity to enable impact on the design fields in Finland.

“I like to think that a museum should consider five important points from the visitor’s perspective – that you can be impressed, enjoy, learn, participate, and share”, Aleksi Malmberg summed up.

The panellists felt that openness and interactivity were especially relevant aspects to take into account within each step of the initiative. Architecture and design are topics that influence everyone, and this notion needs to become visible in the new museum. Solutions should still be processed through national and international networks.

“Social media discussions surrounding architecture and urban planning are often deconstructive. Could the museum bring in a certain depth through expertise? Could the museum be a mindful arena for discussions on architecture and urban planning?” Inari Virkkala asked.

“Let’s consider the museum’s spaces and events in a way that they are open and considerate. You don’t need to know anything when you come to the museum. You can just come by, wonder and look around, that would be a good starting point. To just drop in – and experience”, Nimco Kulmiye Hussein suggested.

As the event proceeded, other participants also took the opportunity to share their thoughts. Various viewpoints were raised: aims of carbon neutrality, novel pedagogical approaches, the museum as an accelerator for architecture and design… And the importance of craft and making things by hand to be included in the concept. At the end, there were reminders of the long traditions of current museums, and teachings that they can offer. And surely Alvar Aalto was mentioned.
A-D Logo
Founders
Ministry of Education and Culture Finland LogoCity of Helsinki LogoDesignmuseo LogoMuseum of Finnish Architecture Logo
Founding Partners
Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation LogoFinnish Cultural Foundation LogoSvenska KulturfondenFinnish Cultural Foundation Logo
We use cookies to improve our website. By clicking "Accept all cookies", you accept the terms of the website.

For more information visit here.