In 2023 we were invited by renowned architectural educator and author Frank Lyons to collaborate on a competition entry for a new design museum in Helsinki, Finland. The design, led by Frank (Humane Architecture), was intended to offer a sculptural counterpoint to nearby commercial buildings.

The forms of the building pick up contextual traits already evident in the city.  The Arts and Crafts, or Art Nouveau architecture of Helsinki give the city a distinctive character.  Without mimicking historic details, the building adopts several distinctive characteristics; the raked ground floor, the emphasis of the piano nobile, copper roofs, granite rustication and a modern interpretation of the first-floor cantilevered bay windows.  The ‘Arts and Crafts’ emphasis on the making and texture of the building, runs through the design into the detailed consideration of the finishes and interior design.

In terms of ecology, timber framed construction was proposed, protected in the service centres under the ‘deck’.  Timber is a material natural to Finland and offers perhaps the lowest embodied carbon.  Timber was also proposed throughout the interiors, offering a warm and natural environment, and as a cladding on the underside of the canopy. Geothermal energy was also proposed to reduce the heating loads on the building.

Frank Lyon’s book entitled ‘The Architecture of Nothingness: An Explanation of the Objective Basis of Beauty in Architecture and the Arts’ (Routledge 2019) is available from Waterstones and Amazon.