An 11-member jury representing the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation has selected six finalists, from a record-breaking 1,715 submissions, in the contest to design Guggenheim Helsinki in Finland’s capital.
In order to maintain the integrity of the selection process, the names of the finalists won’t be matched with their respective designs (which were submitted anonymously) until next June, when the winner will be announced. The competition allows the finalists to fine-tune their designs up through March 2015.
The finalists are:
• AGPS Architecture Ltd., with offices in Zurich and Los Angeles
• Asif Khan Ltd., in London
• Fake Industries Architectural Agonism, with offices in New York, Barcelona, and Sydney
• Haas Cook Zemmrick STUDIO2050, in Stuttgart
• Moreau Kusunoki Architect, in Paris
• SMAR Architecture Studio, in Madrid and Western Australia
The winning design will be awarded the equivalent of $136,000, and each of the five runners-up will recive $75,000.
In the jury’s statement, its chairman, Mark Wigley, a professor and dean emeritus at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation, noted that each finalist “offers a distinctive and original way to create new public space for Helsinki, and each challenges the Guggenheim to develop unprecedented models of museum planning.”
The jury shared some observations about what it liked about each design, and what it was less enamored of:
Entry GH-04380895 was singled out for the way it grouped its pavilions that blended into the city’s fabric, and how it used natural light. The jury was “skeptical” about this design’s roofscape, as well as the placement and size of galleries.
GH-1128435973 was praised for its “internal flexibility and external effect.” Its low form yet pronounced silhouette “was considered particularly interesting.”
GH-121371443 was lauded for its “simple but extraordinary” design that integrated image and technology. However, the jury felt its internal program was “too diagrammatic.”
GH-5059206475, whose design is based on an old store house and uses materials from existing buildings, “creates close relationships with its surrounding.”
GH-5631681770 pays particular attention to public space, and the potential exhibition spaces “were considered authentic.” The jury liked the design’s “non-stereotypical” approach.
GH-76091181 uses timber elegantly, and includes a “memorable” courtyard design “with circuits of independent galleries.” But the jury questioned the use of lifts as well as the galleries’ configurations.
Related Stories
| Jul 10, 2014
BioSkin 'vertical sprinkler' named top technical innovation in high-rise design
BioSkin, a system of water-filled ceramic pipes that cools the exterior surface of buildings and their surrounding micro-climates, has won the 2014 Tall Building Innovation Award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Jul 10, 2014
Unique design of Toronto's townhome The Tree House
Plans for a new Toronto townhome brings cutting-edge design.
| Jul 10, 2014
Berkeley Lab opens 'world's most comprehensive building efficiency simulator'
DOE’s new FLEXLAB is a first-of-its-kind simulator that lets users test energy-efficient building systems individually or as an integrated system, under real-world conditions.
| Jul 10, 2014
Steinberg SF Studio launches in San Francisco, plans to transform its own office space
Grant and Saheba left their previous architectural firms, AECOM and Handel respectively, because they saw the opportunity to bring their agile, provocative design aesthetic to clients in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Oakland.
| Jul 9, 2014
Dragon-inspired hotel conveys Vietnamese hospitality [2014 Building Team Awards]
An international Building Team unites to create Vietnam’s first JW Marriott luxury property.
| Jul 9, 2014
Harvard Business School to build large-scale conference center
Expected to open in 2018, the facility will combine the elements of a large-scale conference center, a performance space, and an intimate community forum. The new building will be designed by Boston-based William Rawn and Associates.
| Jul 9, 2014
Top U.S. cities for design professionals
Though New York and Los Angeles are often seen as the sole hubs for design jobs, other design epicenters are scattered between the coasts.
| Jul 9, 2014
The one misstep that could be slowing your company’s growth
Change. It’s inevitable. And success for any professional may very well depend on how well we adapt to it. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Jul 9, 2014
First Look: SOM's design for All Aboard Florida Fort Lauderdale rail station
The lightweight and luminous design "responds to its setting and creates a striking infrastructural icon for the city," said SOM Design Partner Roger Duffy.
| Jul 8, 2014
Fast-track naval hospital sparks sea change in project delivery [2014 Building Team Awards]
Through advanced coordination methods and an experimental contract method, the Building Team for Camp Pendleton’s new hospital campus sets a new standard for project delivery.