The design of the Architecture and Design Museum focuses on the intersection between built environment and public space.

In an era where urban land is increasingly scarce and valuable, the decision to dedicate a full 40% of the AD Museum’s site to public space is both bold and visionary. Rather than maximizing the building’s physical footprint, the design embraces a deeper ambition: to create a cultural institution that is not just for the happy few, but fundamentally of all people. By prioritizing flexible urban public space, the museum reframes the role of architecture and design—not as objects to be observed from a distance, but as engaging and inviting elements woven into the fabric of daily life.

This deliberate choice transforms the site into more than just a home for exhibitions; it becomes a shared urban living room, fostering creativity, dialogue, and connection among citizens and visitors alike. In doing so, the museum exemplifies the very principles it seeks to celebrate: thoughtful, human-centered design that elevates both form and function in service of the public good.

The museum’s main form rises from a monolithic pedestal of locally sourced granite—a powerful nod to the harbor’s native bedrock and the permanence of place. Above this grounded base, an icy-white, translucent volume captures the eye, wrapped in a luminous, textured glass façade that shimmers with quiet intensity. Carved into this ethereal mass, sweeping concave voids—shaped by imagined spheres—reveal a warm inner layer of richly textured wood, inviting visitors in with a gesture of openness and celebrating the timeless artistry of Finnish craftsmanship.