Guggenheim Helsinki

"The museum utilizes timber in its many forms, from robust and structural heavy timber to delicate and translucent paper, in a manner that gradually unfolds during visitation. The experience will be akin to observing a cross section of wood itself. On the surface, a texturized skin of irregular, board-formed concrete entices the visitor as one is captivated by the intricate pattern upon tree bark. The same skin accompanies one's entrance into the museum, where portions of the wood formwork are intentionally left in place: thus the concrete bark is being peeled back and the woodfinished interior, the sapwood, is revealed. Sapwood is the lifeblood of the tree, and in like manner, the soft, wood interior of the museum serves as the conduit which will nourish the visitor's appreciation, education, and experience of the artwork, the museum's heartwood.

"The main gallery on the ground floor houses the root of the museum's collection: the permanent exhibition of Nordic design. The second level is an expansive space, open in plan to provide adaptability for a myriad of exhibit configurations; it is here that the temporary exhibits are installed. This level would be segregated by temporary partitions where light-transmitting paper is pressed between glass panes and set within wood frames in an arrangement best suited for each exhibit. Within both galleries are tall ceilings with exposed structure, concrete girders supporting timber beams in a circumferential arrangement, mimicking that of tree rings. Artwork is mounted on unpainted, woodpaneled walls. There is no paint on the walls save for that of the art itself. The galleries on both levels are punctured by two double-height atria performing as light-disseminating cores."

Excerpt from the project statement (full version below).

AESTHETIC OF EVERYTHING are: Noah Garcia, Justin Den Herder, Linn Kagay, and Ivan Himanen.
Summer 2014