Guggenheim Issues Global Call for Entries in Design Competition for New Proposed Museum in Helsinki

With launch events on June 4 and 5 in Helsinki and Venice, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation has formally called for entries to begin its open, international architectural competition for the design of a proposed Guggenheim museum in Helsinki. The keenly anticipated two-stage competition is expected to draw submissions from a wide range of firms and individuals-emerging and internationally famous-from Finland and around the world.

This is the first time that the Guggenheim Foundation, long recognized for commissioning transformational works of architecture, has sought a design through an open competition. It is embarking on this new course in one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in Europe, located at the intersection of East and West and respected internationally for its heritage of modern architecture and design. The firm or team selected through this competition will take its place in the lineage of both Helsinki, as exemplified by renowned architects such as Alvar Aalto and Eliel Saarinen, and of the Guggenheim, with its landmark buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry and first-of-its-kind carbon-fiber structure by Atelier Bow-Wow created for the BMW Guggenheim Lab.