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
| May 31, 2012
8 steps to a successful BIM marketing program
It's not enough to have BIM capability--you have to know how to sell your BIM expertise to clients and prospects.
| May 31, 2012
3 Metal Roofing Case Studies Illustrate Benefits
Metal roofing systems offer values such as longevity, favorable life cycle costs, and heightened aesthetic appeal.
| May 31, 2012
AIA Course: High-Efficiency Plumbing Systems for Commercial and Institutional Buildings
Earn 1.0 AIA/CES learning units by studying this article and successfully completing the online exam.
| May 31, 2012
2011 Reconstruction Award Profile: Seegers Student Union at Muhlenberg College
Seegers Student Union at Muhlenberg College has been reconstructed to serve as the core of social life on campus.
| May 31, 2012
2011 Reconstruction Awards Profile: Ka Makani Community Center
An abandoned historic structure gains a new life as the focal point of a legendary military district in Hawaii.
| May 31, 2012
5 military construction trends
Defense spending may be down somewhat, but there’s still plenty of project dollars out there if you know where to look.
| May 31, 2012
New School’s University Center in NYC topped out
16-story will provide new focal point for campus.
| May 31, 2012
Day & Zimmermann taps Jobe for ECM VP
Ken Jobe, a senior executive with 30+ years of industry-related experience, joins Day & Zimmermann to expand footprint in the process & industrial markets.
| May 31, 2012
Perkins+Will-designed engineering building at University of Buffalo opens
Clad in glass and copper-colored panels, the three-story building thrusts outward from the core of the campus to establish a new identity for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the campus at large.