Dror for Guggenheim Helsinki

A gallery in the forest;  an ever-changing cultural icon
 

The studio entered a competition held by the Guggenheim for the design of its new location in Helsinki.

I started by thinking about how museums often double as architectural icons, where the building is synonymous with its designer. This approach disconnects the exterior’s messaging from the exhibitions inside—a shared dialogue around art is missing. I wanted to create a museum that could celebrate its ever-changing content on its façade: a performing monument to art. It was also important that the structure resonate with the Finnish capital in a distinctive way.

We began with a minimal rectangular building wrapped in thin, transparent panels that project imagery like standard screens—a cutting-edge technology enabled by OLEDs. The screens’ content would be a curated extension of the exhibitions inside. We also surrounded the building with a strategically arranged grid of birch trees. The vegetation softens and camouflages the building’s sharp edges, creating an optical illusion where the structure magically dissolves into the manufactured forest.

Inside, three lightweight, minimal platforms can be adjusted to multiple heights to complement artworks of varying size and scale. This system provides yet another flexible element of the building and extension of the art, allowing artists and curators to create an exhibition space customized for the objects it presents.

By establishing a dialogue between the museum’s interior and exterior, as well as its surroundings, our concept for the Guggenheim Helsinki ushers in a third voice: nature. With each season, the Nordic wood provides another constantly changing layer to consider in curating content for the façade.  

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