Helsinki-based firm JKMM Architects has won a global competition to design Finland’s new Museum of Architecture and Design.
Due to open in 2030, the new museum will be located in a 10,050-square-metre building on the waterfront in Helsinki’s South Harbour.
The €105 million project will merge the Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Design Museum Helsinki, with construction now set to start in 2027.
JKMM Architects’ design, known as Kumma, was selected after an 18 month, international, open and anonymous design competition for the project. This received 624 proposals from around the world.
One of Finland’s leading architecture practices, JKMM Architects’ projects include the Amos Rex art museum in Helsinki, Tammelan Stadion in Tampere, and University of the Arts Helsinki.
Samuli Miettinen, founding partner and principal designer at JKMM Architects, said: “I hope that the planning and realization of the new Museum of Architecture and Design can show the way for how new things can be built responsibly and with skill.
“Architecture and design are deeply human – they are born from dreams and longing, and they gain their meaning in the places where we can experience and live together.”
New museum of architecture and design
In second place to JKMM Architects was Portugal and Belgium-based architecture office Cossement Cardoso, and in third Lopes Brenna, an architectural practice based in Switzerland.
“The jury made a unanimous decision in the anonymous competition,” said Mikko Aho, chair of the competition jury.
“Kumma blends into the cityscape, protecting valuable views of the historic waterfront, while at the same time standing out as a recognizable landmark.”
The Museum of Architecture and Design will explore design and architecture in Finland and the Nordic region, housing more than 900,000 artefacts including objects, letters, models and photographs.
Kaarina Gould, CEO of the Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design, said: “In addition to architectural and cityscape goals, the competition brief asked teams to consider the future needs of museum operations, use environmentally-friendly construction, and design to ensure that the museum would bring joy and inspiration to its users.
“The new museum building has to enable our social mission: shaping our common future through architecture and design. In Kumma, the jury saw potential for achieving all of these goals.”
Images courtesy of JKMM Architects
