GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM

Location: Helsinki, Finland

Design Director: Raya Ani

Company Name: RAW-NYC Architects

Category: Architecture

Year: 2014

The museum design is a series of volumes that were part of one large volume carved out to create in-between outdoor spaces to address the park/the city on one side and the harbor on the other. The peaks and dips of the form are carefully orchestrated to maintain the views of Helsinki’s landmark buildings.

The three carved out volumes are: the Garden of the Public which connects the park to the promenade and to the museum’s public spaces; the Garden of Reflection and; the Garden of Sculpture. The three gardens form the backbone of the museum where the natural flow of the park travels organically through the museum and to the harbor. These carved out volumes allow the view to continue from the park to the harbor and vice versa.

Each volume, with its unique character and functions provide enclaves for experiencing art, the natural environment and engaging the public all year around.

The experience of the museum is akin to going through layers of the city by transversing spaces that continues through the different volumes, weaving all the indoor programs together. The main path connecting the museum on the ground level is where the main program elements are situated. Similar to the passage of time, this path goes through layers of gallery spaces and flows from one space into another- interconnected vertically through the three levels, with openings allowing visual connection between floors, yet offering both large and intimate spaces for art engagement and experiences.