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Guggenheim museum . Helsinki

The Guggenheim Helsinki has a vertical dimension. It rises above the roofline of the adjacent city but falls below the height of the historic landmarks. The center of the Guggenheim Helsinki is open and public. The main hall is a vertical alternation of closed and open balconies connected by a series of escalators and recalls the faded memories of the “Piranesian” galleries.

It is a balanced structure which places four “rooms” around the main hall. Together, they create an equilibrium balancing in a stable system. Those rooms differ in size, proportion and orientation. Freed from any structure, their plan is open and allows an infinite number of curatorial possibilities. The vertical sum of the rooms enables coeval use for different exhibitions within or without a common theme. Art can perform on top of Architecture on top of Design and so on. The new museum performs as a menu of choice.