The minimalist architecture is derived from a complex form: externally, the new Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki is a wooden ellipsoid, quietly resting over the pier; on the inside, it explodes spatiality at various levels, fully utilizing the dimensions of its shell – the 127m by 68m and 16,30m tall.

The notion of pure geometric forms for architecture purposes inhabits the imagination of the modernist era, from de Étienne-Louis Boullée to Oscar Niemeyer.

The reference to shipbuilding dialogues with the site that faces the sea. Successive wood and concrete porticos define the shape of the object. However, unlike a conventional ship, the deck is covered by the same geometry as the hull – here inverted -, as if the side walls cover the entire deck. It shapes up to a ship with a double hull. Different than in naval engineering, the hulls are vertically supported, creating the tectonic relationship between earth and sky.

The ellipsoidal shape allows a minimum obstruction of the landscape and provides free circulation on the ground level. A square is then formed on the surroundings; a place to be used as a public exhibition space for installations, including areas of shadows created by the cantilevered volume.

Even with a floor-to-ceiling height of 10.70 on the main exhibition galley, the building still keeps lower than the skyline, respecting the scale of the city. On the other side, public promenade facing the sea is activated by programs such as cafe/bar, entirely open to the public waterfront promenade.

A further expanded intervention area should consider a new green space on surroundings to the South of site, as if the park grows up to the sea promenade. The pedestrian path can also continue, creating a free circulation around the bay.

In order to enter the space, the visitor descends a smooth ramp without breaking the ellipsoid geometry; entering through the keel. Visitors, then, arrive at the distribution hall which holds, on the East side, the cafe/bar and the restaurant and, on the West side, the museum store.

Both activities establish a direct connection with the exterior – can operate independent from the museum – and create a meeting of two perpendicular axes that intersect within the building in the center of the solemn entrance hall. Vertical circulation is made through a system of high flow capacity ramps, which reaches the exhibition nave, where the visitor encounters the surprising space. Ground level at 3.1m waterproofs the entire perimeter of the vessel.

The covered deck houses the large exhibition space, arranged in an elliptical free plan of 125m by 65m without interference from any columns in the center. Successive gateways – in modules of 5m – offer a continuous rhythm.

The versatile space with high ceilings can be reorganized according to the exhibition layout, including large installations. Open spaces adapt to the different needs of modern and contemporary art – e.g., Hamburger Bahnhof or Venice Arsenale – and can be partitioned by closed volumes if needed. Suggested exhibitive system – with glass plates suspended by steel cables – allows the possibility of visual continuity of the architecture into conventional exhibitions.

Depending on weather and exhibition type, external brises can be completely open in order to bring the landscape and light into inner space.

The LEED certification requirements are met by 3 creative, sustainable strategies: intelligent façade, the power annex and sustainable cross section.

Studio MK27

GUGGENHEIM HELSINKI

PROJECT FOR CONTEST
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location > helsinque . finland
project > september . 2014
built area > 12.701 sqm
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arquitecture > studio mk27
architect > marcio kogan
co-architects > constanza cortes . gabriel kogan . marcio tanaka . renata furnaletto . samanta cafardo
architecture team > eduardo chalabi . eduardo glycerio . giovanni meirelles . lair reis . maria cristina motta . renata mori
communication team > carlos costa . mariana simas

The minimalist architecture is derived from a complex form: externally, the new Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki is a wooden ellipsoid, quietly resting over the pier; on the inside, it explodes spatiality at various levels, fully utilizing the dimensions of its shell – the 127m by 68m and 16,30m tall.

The notion of pure geometric forms for architecture purposes inhabits the imagination of the modernist era, from de Étienne-Louis Boullée to Oscar Niemeyer.

The reference to shipbuilding dialogues with the site that faces the sea. Successive wood and concrete porticos define the shape of the object. However, unlike a conventional ship, the deck is covered by the same geometry as the hull – here inverted -, as if the side walls cover the entire deck. It shapes up to a ship with a double hull. Different than in naval engineering, the hulls are vertically supported, creating the tectonic relationship between earth and sky.

The ellipsoidal shape allows a minimum obstruction of the landscape and provides free circulation on the ground level. A square is then formed on the surroundings; a place to be used as a public exhibition space for installations, including areas of shadows created by the cantilevered volume.

Even with a floor-to-ceiling height of 10.70 on the main exhibition galley, the building still keeps lower than the skyline, respecting the scale of the city. On the other side, public promenade facing the sea is activated by programs such as cafe/bar, entirely open to the public waterfront promenade.

A further expanded intervention area should consider a new green space on surroundings to the South of site, as if the park grows up to the sea promenade. The pedestrian path can also continue, creating a free circulation around the bay.

In order to enter the space, the visitor descends a smooth ramp without breaking the ellipsoid geometry; entering through the keel. Visitors, then, arrive at the distribution hall which holds, on the East side, the cafe/bar and the restaurant and, on the West side, the museum store.

Both activities establish a direct connection with the exterior – can operate independent from the museum – and create a meeting of two perpendicular axes that intersect within the building in the center of the solemn entrance hall. Vertical circulation is made through a system of high flow capacity ramps, which reaches the exhibition nave, where the visitor encounters the surprising space. Ground level at 3.1m waterproofs the entire perimeter of the vessel.

The covered deck houses the large exhibition space, arranged in an elliptical free plan of 125m by 65m without interference from any columns in the center. Successive gateways – in modules of 5m – offer a continuous rhythm.

The versatile space with high ceilings can be reorganized according to the exhibition layout, including large installations. Open spaces adapt to the different needs of modern and contemporary art – e.g., Hamburger Bahnhof or Venice Arsenale – and can be partitioned by closed volumes if needed. Suggested exhibitive system – with glass plates suspended by steel cables – allows the possibility of visual continuity of the architecture into conventional exhibitions.

Depending on weather and exhibition type, external brises can be completely open in order to bring the landscape and light into inner space.

The LEED certification requirements are met by 3 creative, sustainable strategies: intelligent façade, the power annex and sustainable cross section.

Studio MK27