Six emerging architects shortlisted for Guggenheim Helsinki design competition

News: after commissioning landmark museums by Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry in the 20th century, the Guggenheim has shortlisted six little-known practices for its latest outpost in Helsinki. Related story: Controversial Helsinki Guggenheim competition attracts record number of entrantsThe competition to design the £83   million Guggenheim Helsinki art museum, which will be built on the waterfront in the Finnish capital, attracted a record-breaking 1,715 entries. Shortlisted entry: GH-5631681770Each firm will be given an additional briefing to develop its scheme further and produce physical models by 2015. Shortlisted entry: GH-121371443A winner will be announced in the summer. This competition is open for entries until 2 March 2015. Shortlisted entry: GH-5631681770The Guggenheim organisation is behind a series of art institutions that have become famous for their iconic architecture, including the spiralling Frank Lloyd Wright Guggenheim in New York and the Guggenheim Bilbao by Frank Gehry, which has been credited with regenerating the Spanish town by attracting large numbers of tourists. Shortlisted entry: GH-04380895GH-121371443, which proposes a rectangular building with a curtain-like facade that allows the building to glow from within at night, was described as «simple but extraordinary». Shortlisted entry: GH-5059206475The group said the proposals it had received thus far were «eloquent reminders that art and creative expression are more than showy attractions for cruise ship visitors – they can and should be a vital part of urban planning.»
Shortlisted entry: GH-5059206475″Helsinki deserves much better than a Guggenheim Bilbao knock-off. «The use of nine lifts was especially questioned, but it was felt that the gallery ‘rooms’ could work well if the horizontal and vertical circulation scheme could be developed both in terms of efficiency and complexity of visitor experience,» said the jury. Due to the number of submissions, competition organiser Malcolm Reading Consultants arranged   an advisory panel to sift the designs into categories prior to judging, according to their compliance with the original brief. GH-1128435973 was selected thanks to   its «industrial vernacular», with a «particularly interesting» low silhouette that presented a «compelling response to the Guggenheim principles for the new museum even if it was not fully developed yet» according to the jury citation. Gehry is also designing the organisation’s largest outpost – the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, which is due to open in 2017. «Architectural courage and a willingness to engage with the very best practices of the time is really characteristic of the institution,» Armstrong told Dezeen. A winner will then be announced in June 2015 and will be awarded €100,000, with each runner-up receiving €55,000. Shortlisted entry: GH-76091181Some critics have objected to the American cultural brand occupying a key site in the Finnish capital. There is a real opportunity here to make some urban history,» said Andrew Ross, New York University urbanist and The Next Helsinki jury member. Shortlisted entry: GH-121371443Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation director Richard Armstrong said that trusting the design to less well-known firms rather than major   international names was a gamble, but one that was in line with «the spirit» of the organisation. The jury felt the scheme had «such a density of visual impact that it would draw a nickname from the public» but needed further work on its internal layout. Meanwhile, GH-5059206475 was praised for proposing the use of the same materials as neighbouring buildings. Shortlisted entry: GH-04380895Entry GH-04380895 – consisting of a group of pavilions – was praised by the judges for its uniqueness, although its tower, which is shown illuminated at night like a lighthouse, generated «concerns over the placement and size of the galleries». All the shortlisted designs will be exhibited publicly in Helsinki in spring.