Architecture & Design Museum Helsinki to be transformed in spring 2027

The museum will close on 7 January 2027 and reopen at its current premises on Korkeavuorenkatu, Helsinki on 5 March 2027.

Upon reopening, the new Designed & Loved exhibition will present the history of Finnish design and architecture from a broad range of perspectives. Going forward, the museum’s exhibitions, events and services will be brought together in a more cohesive visitor experience.

Museum Director Pilvi Kalhama explains that, as it enters a period of transition, the museum wants to better meet the needs of Helsinki’s growing numbers of visitors while offering a comprehensive experience of the world of Finnish design.

“Without forgetting the importance of critical thinking about our cultural heritage and our role in carrying it into the future,” she adds.

A free space open to all, inviting visitors to spend time and explore

When the Architecture & Design Museum Helsinki reopens, its ground floor will offer more open, free-to-access space than before, alongside a renewed design shop. Located in the heart of Helsinki’s Design District, the museum shop will place an even stronger emphasis on current phenomena and trends. 

The museum will also welcome a new café and a book gallery combining the services of a library and a bookshop. The Aalto Lounge, which featured in the Aalto Design exhibition, will remain as a reading room and a place to take a break.

Interior architecture studio Fyra is responsible for the redesign of the renewed ground floor, which will highlight the distinctive features of the building’s original architecture. The spaces will be given new uses, and objects from the museum’s collections and design objects will also be displayed outside the exhibition spaces. Windows that have recently been covered up will be uncovered once again.

Read more about the museum’s renovation here.

At Eteläranta, the focus is already on the future

The views also open up at the museum’s event space at Eteläranta 6 in Helsinki’s South Harbour. The windows of the space look directly onto the construction site of the new museum building, due for completion in 2030.

Just around the corner from the museum’s main premises on Korkeavuorenkatu, Eteläranta 6 is a temporary venue for events, meetings and encounters, designed by Joanna Laajisto’s studio in accordance with circular economy principles. It invites visitors to discuss the significance of architecture and design in the city.

The museum and its partners are already organising events at Eteläranta 6. This autumn, the venue will host recordings of a series of live discussions, which will also be released as a podcast series. In addition, it is home to the Juhani Pallasmaa reference library.

As part of its Community Residency programme, the museum offers the space free of charge to small communities, collectives and working groups. The programme’s open call encourages applications particularly from groups that engage with Eteläranta and its surroundings, and explore broader themes relating to the city, public space, architecture and design.

According to Pilvi Kalhama, the space’s primary purpose is to enable discussion about the development of the area and the museum around the new museum building.

“We will continue to serve members of the public and our stakeholders at Eteläranta 6 in January and February, when the main museum is temporarily closed. In addition to the public events scheduled at Eteläranta 6 this autumn and next year, we will open the Pallasmaa reference library to the public once a week, with regular opening hours,” she says.

In future, different communities will also be able to book the space for private events, further contributing to the vitality of the Eteläranta area.

Detailed information about the programme and opening hours will soon be available on the museum’s website. 

Read more about the open call for events at the Eteläranta 6 community space here.