The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation Announces 1,715 Submissions for Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation announced today that 1,715 confirmed submissions have been received in response to Stage One of the open, anonymous, international, two-stage competition for the design of a proposed Guggenheim museum in the Finnish capital of Helsinki. The submissions represent the largest number of entries recorded for a competition of this kind, surpassing the 2002 competition for the Grand Egyptian Museum, which received 1,557 entries, and the largest architectural competition in Helsinki, for the Helsinki Central Library, which attracted 544 entries in 2012.

Stage One of the competition was open to qualified architects, including people who have professional degrees in architecture-either individuals or teams-from anywhere in the world. Anonymous submissions were due September 10, 2014, and were received from 77 countries, according to voluntary data provided by 70 percent of competitors. The United States, Italy, Finland, the United Kingdom, France, and Japan represent the top six countries from which submissions were received.

"When we launched the competition for the design of the proposed Guggenheim Helsinki, we hoped that it would inspire architects everywhere-emerging and established alike-to imagine what the museum of the twenty-first century could be and catalyze a global exchange of ideas about architecture and its traditions, urbanism, public buildings, and the future of cities," says Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. "We are awed and humbled by the tremendous response to the call for entries, and we look forward to engaging in a full and public exploration of the submissions in the coming months."

Launched on June 4 and 5 with events in Helsinki and at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition is a first for the Guggenheim, which has not previously sought a museum design through an open competition. It also marks a key milestone in the Guggenheim's long engagement with architecture and design, which includes landmark buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry as well as a first-of-its-kind, mobile, carbon-fiber structure by Atelier Bow-Wow created for the BMW Guggenheim Lab, a pioneering global initiative that took the Guggenheim's educational mission into the streets of New York, Berlin, and Mumbai with free public programming and city projects related to issues of urban life.

"The response to the competition has been magnificent, and we are impressed by the level of effort and care taken by competitors in making their submissions," says competition organizer Malcolm Reading, president of London-based Malcolm Reading Consultants. "Finland's impeccable design pedigree, the Guggenheim Foundation's steadfast commitment to this initiative, and a rare site at the symbolic gateway to the city from the sea are all elements that shape this fascinating project and have combined to attract and motivate architects from extremely diverse cultural backgrounds."

"With the Finnish heritage of design and our tradition of open competition, it is very positive that Helsinki is at the center of this global conversation," says Helsinki mayor Jussi Pajunen. "We expect that the submissions-both from Finland and abroad-will have much to tell us about the transformative power of architecture."

Jury Process
As the next step in the competition, the independent, eleven-member competition jury will meet in Helsinki in early November to review the Stage One submissions and choose the top six entries to continue to Stage Two of the competition. Selected by the Guggenheim, the State of Finland, the City of Helsinki, and the Finnish Society of Architects (SAFA), the wide-ranging juryincludes practicing and academic architects and urbanists, arts practitioners, and local experts on urban issues and planning, sustainability, and Helsinki and Finnish politics.

Competitors were asked to submit innovative and creative designs demonstrating strong connections to Helsinki's historic city center, South Harbor, and its urban context while reflecting Nordic ideals. Submissions will be judged anonymously on the basis of their architectural design, relationship to the site and the cityscape, practicality for users, sustainability (including criteria for the use of materials), and feasibility, according to the guidelines established in the competition brief.

"The response to this competition affirms the unique ability of architecture to ignite imagination and promote continuous public dialogue about what we want our cities and built environment to be," says jury chair Mark Wigley, professor and former dean of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University. "As jurors, we are privileged with the responsibility of assessing the submitted concepts and are excited to explore their potential for Helsinki and for museum design at large."

Announcement of Short List
The shortlisted entries will be presented in Helsinki at a media event on December 2, 2014. In accordance with European Union procurement rules, shortlisted teams or individuals will be named but will not be matched to their designs. Shortlisted designers will be invited to visit the proposed museum site in Helsinki in December and will have until March 2015 to make final submissions.

Winning Selection
The winning design will be announced in June 2015. The winner will be awarded a prize of €100,000 (approximately $136,000). The five runners-up each will receive €55,000 (approximately $75,000).

Public Programs and Engagement
Throughout the fall and winter, the public will have several opportunities to explore the Stage One response and submissions as well as other topics related to the Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition and museum architecture:

The Guggenheim Helsinki Live series, initiated in October 2013 to invite public discussion and exploration of ideas related to the proposed museum project, will continue through spring 2015 with events in Helsinki and in other Finnish cities. Also planned for spring 2015 is an exhibition of shortlisted proposals to be presented in Helsinki.

About the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
Founded in 1937, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of art, primarily of the modern and contemporary periods, through exhibitions, education programs, research initiatives, and publications. The Guggenheim network that began in the 1970s when the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, was joined by the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, has since expanded to include the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (opened 1997) and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (currently in development). Looking to the future, the Guggenheim Foundation continues to forge international collaborations that take contemporary art, architecture, and design beyond the walls of the museum, including with the Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative, and with The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Chinese Art Initiative. More information about the foundation can be found atguggenheim.org.

About Malcolm Reading Consultants
A specialist in architectural competitions for museums and arts, heritage, and nonprofit organizations, the London-based Malcolm Reading Consultants (MRC) has run architectural competitions for the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Glasgow School of Art, the UK Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, and the Library for Foreign Literature in Moscow, among others. MRC believes in the power of design to create new perceptions and to act as an inspiration. The consultancy's role in the Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition includes liaising with stakeholders at the Guggenheim Foundation, the City of Helsinki, the State of Finland, and the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA), and ensuring absolute independence in the competition process. For more information, visitmalcolmreading.co.uk.

Photo Credit: Riitta Supperi