Guggenheim Museum, Helsinki, Finland
Guggenheim Museum, Helsinki, Finland
GENERAL CONCEPT
The future building of the Guggenheim Museum will be situated on a very interesting and provocative place – just by the dock, next to the city park Tahititornin and the very crowded marketplace. This gives a sense of the sea, of ships, far away harbors and mystical islands. In such a place predominates the design of sea liners, port cranes, prolonged shapes of terminals and bollards on the concrete of the pier.
All of this naturally unites in a common concept that we called CARGO.
URBAN PERSPECTIVE
The considered place for the constructions is a specific elongated area. The structure will be cantilevered towards the open sea and islands. We suggest the making of a new public plaza between the Guggenheim museum and the new south passenger terminal. The main passages towards the museum will be long bridge-gangways reaching (extending towards) the city center, the marketplace and the museum space of Tahititornin Park. They will allow the visitors to view the complex and the outer expositions, while walking. Therefore, these passages will act as a part of the main museum ground.
FUNCIONALITY
On the ground level, looking directly towards the square in front will be the parlor of the building. It will be a free zone, with a lounge with an information desk and a souvenir shop, exhibition area with temporary displays and a café with a big terrace oriented towards the gulf. Nearby will be the ticket office with a wardrobe, as well as a multifunctional auditorium with all the needed utility rooms to service the stage.
The exhibition zone will represent a cascade of triangular platforms, which lead in an ascending direction to the opposite big glass screen at the end, through which a beautiful view opens to the sea and islands. At the screen will pass through a narrow panoramic platform, which will provide an unforgettable view over the whole complex and the sea, as well as the interior museum cascade. After this culmination the spectators start descending using a different passage, enjoying the rest of the museum exhibition on their way down.
On the second level there will be a restaurant with a view of the gulf and also a view of all the inner exhibitions platforms.
All the technical rooms, storage rooms, depositories, the kitchen, bathrooms and powering of the building will be located in the basement.
The loading of the heavy exponents onto the separate platforms will happen with a crane similar to a derrick, which will operate in the open space. This will create a sight resembling a busy harbor.
FREE ACCESS AREA
All the gangways and bridges leading to the building entrance outside will have a 5% gradient allowing the movement of wheelchairs. The movement through the inner exhibition platforms will be performed with the help of an inclined elevator - FUNICOLARE and with a 5% gradient ramp for all handicaps.
ILLUMINATION
Due to the closed, Nordic character of the structure, the main source of illumination will be achieved with wide triangular skylights with PVDF – form finding covering. This will provide a controlled, even, diffuse light, protected from UV rays. The firm walls grant enough space for displaying big flat exhibits. The extensive glazing of the ground floor provides natural, lateral light, which is appropriate for large exhibits.
COMPOSITION PRINCIPLE
We consider the Wright building in New York, as the unquestionable emblem of the Solomon Guggenheim Foundation and the museum exhibition, which leads the public naturally into space, its trademark. By creating reminiscence on this principle, we offer a floating cascade space, which apart from naturally allowing the public to view the exhibition, offers an unforgettable experience, a spectacle that mixes art, architecture and sea.
