The Architecture & Design Museum Helsinki is undergoing a major transformation on its journey toward a new museum building, set to be completed in Helsinki’s South Harbor in 2030. Next spring, the museum will launch Designed & Loved, a new concept that will transform its current home on Korkeavuorenkatu, bringing exhibitions, events, and services together into a more seamless museum experience.
At the heart of the renewed museum is an ambitious collection survey exhibition exploring the histories of Finnish architecture and design from multiple perspectives, created for both international visitors and local audiences.
The museum will temporarily close on 7 January 2027 while the transformation is carried out, reopening on 5 March 2027.
A new free-to-enter ground floor
As part of the transformation, the first floor of the Architecture & Design Museum Helsinki will become a welcoming, admission-free space where anyone can stop by, take a break, and find inspiration. The redesigned floor will bring together an expanded Design Shop, a new book gallery and Café Nolita.
Located in the heart of Helsinki’s Design District, the museum’s Design Shop will be developed into a distinctive destination for Finnish design, with a selection that evolves in response to current ideas and trends. The museum’s food and dining experience will also expand with a new restaurant Café Nolita. Behind the new restaurant are Luka Balać, Carlos Henriques, and Albert Franch Sunyer, the owners behind the successful Helsinki restaurants Nolla, Elm, and Nolita in Kankurinkatu.
The museum library will reopen as a book gallery, combining library services with a bookstore. The Aalto Lounge, created for the Aalto Design exhibition, will remain after the exhibition closes and serve as a space for reading, meeting, and spending time.
The first-floor interior architecture is being designed by Helsinki-based Design Agency Fyra. The redesign will respect the building’s original architecture while bringing its distinctive features back into view. New services will be integrated beneath the building’s vaulted arches, and windows that have recently been covered will be revealed again. Existing spaces will take on new uses, while objects from the museum’s design and architecture collections will extend beyond the exhibition galleries into other parts of the building.
“This period of transformation gives us a unique opportunity to rethink the museum as a complete experience that is meaningful to many different kinds of visitors. We also want to better serve the growing number of people visiting Helsinki and offer an engaging way to immerse themselves in the world of Finnish design, while maintaining a critical perspective on our cultural heritage and our responsibility to carry it forward,” says Museum Director Pilvi Kalhama.
