The Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation has made a donation of €1 million to the Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design. The gift, which is the Wihuri Foundation’s largest single contribution this year, will be allocated to the museum’s endowment fund, the proceeds of which will enable ambitious activities in the Architecture & Design Museum ‘s new building, set to open in 2030.
Building on significant donations from the City of Helsinki and the Finnish government, the Foundation’s private capital target of €30 million has now reached €28 million.
“The Wihuri Foundation’s gift marks a significant step toward opening the new Museum of Architecture and Design. An early commitment to the project is a powerful expression of trust in the future and the value that design, architecture, and cultural institutions bring to our society. Our heartfelt thanks to the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation,” says Kaarina Gould, the CEO of the Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design.
A high level Advisory Group is established to advance the next fundraising milestone
The museum project’s fundraising and partnership efforts continue with the support of a new group of distinguished experts. The Fundraising Advisory Group is chaired by Kirsi Komi, and joined by Nathalie Ahlström, Tuomas Aho, Christina Dahlblom, Jussi Herlin, Sanna-Mari Jäntti, Petteri Karttunen, Laura Tarkka, and Ari Tolppanen as members.
The role of the advisory group is to identify collaboration opportunities and foster dialogue with potential partners and funders. In doing so, the group contributes to building a broad partnership ecosystem and ensures progress toward the project’s fundraising goals. The members of the advisory group have been invited by the Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design.
“It’s a privilege to be part of building something this unique for Finland,” says Kirsi Komi, Chair of the Fundraising Advisory Group. “The new Museum of Architecture and Design is an investment that will create growth and value across our society. I see this project as one of the defining shared efforts of our decade – one that holds countless opportunities for collaboration for a broad range of businesses and organizations.”
The new Museum of Architecture and Design
The new Museum of Architecture and Design is expected to open in 2030 in Helsinki’s South Harbour’s Makasiininranta district. The results of the museum’s international design competition were announced in September 2025. The competition was won by the Finnish architecture practice JKMM Architects, renowned for its museum architecture, with its proposal “Kumma.”
The new home of the Architecture & Design Museum aims to provide a setting for world-class museum activities and to fulfill its social mission: to shape our shared future through architecture and design.
Both the City of Helsinki and the Government of Finland have committed €60 million each in capital donations to the Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design, which is responsible for establishing the new museum. The project has also received generous support from several private foundations and funds.
The museum’s founding partners are the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Svenska kulturfonden, the Saastamoinen Foundation, the Centenary Foundation of the Finnish Society of Crafts and Design, and now, most recently, the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation.
Our warmest thanks to all founding partners for their donations, which make possible world-class operations in the new home of the Architecture & Design Museum.