About us

The Architecture & Design Museum offers exhibitions, experiences, and encounters with the world of design disciplines. The Architecture & Design Museum is Finland’s national special museum with responsibility for architecture and design. The museum is operated by AD Museum Ltd. The museum and its collections are owned by the Foundation for Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design.

Architecture & Design Museum

The mission of the Architecture & Design Museum is to collect, study, and present materials and phenomena related to Finnish architecture and design, both nationally and internationally. The museum operates at the historic museum building on Korkeavuorenkatu (Korkeavuorenkatu 23) and at the Collections Centre in Vantaa. In addition to exhibitions, events, and projects, the museum plays an important role as an educator in architecture and design, a publisher of research-based knowledge, and a source of materials related to architecture and design.

The Architecture & Design Museum was created when two national special museums, the Museum of Architecture and the Design Museum, merged in January 2024. Both institutions were among the oldest of their kind internationally.

Founded in 1873, the Design Museum (known as the Museum of Applied Arts until 2002) originally served as a teaching collection, supporting professional education and development in Finland and helping audiences understand the societal changes brought on by industrialisation. The Museum of Finnish Architecture was established in 1956 with the mission of promoting the significance of architecture in rebuilding post-war society and shaping the future.

Collections

Collections

Our extensive and diverse collections illuminate the history and development of Finnish design and architecture. The museum’s object and model collections, photographic archive, and archival materials form a comprehensive overview of Finnish architecture and design history. The collections are currently undergoing relocation, and therefore collection services and image services are temporarily closed.

Objects 75,000
Photographs 350,000
Drawings 555,000
Scale models 800

Research

Research

The core of the museum’s research activities is the interpretation of its own collections: providing perspectives, expert analysis, and research-based knowledge about the history of Finnish architecture and design. The ultimate goal is to make research and knowledge accessible to everyone.

Photo: Ilari Järvinen

Library

Library

The Architecture & Design Museum houses a public specialist library dedicated to architecture. Its collections include books, journals, interviews, and correspondence. Books can also be borrowed. Due to the ongoing reorganisation of the museum’s collection facilities, the library is temporarily closed. All loan periods have been extended for more than a year, and all borrowed materials may be kept until 30 September 2026. We will announce the reopening of the library as soon as possible.

Image: Anni Koponen, Architecture & Design Museum

Library Finna

AD Museum Ltd

AD Museum Ltd operates the Architecture & Design Museum at the museum building on Korkeavuorenkatu and at the Collections Centre in Vantaa. The museum is the national responsibility museum for its field. In addition to exhibitions, events, and projects, the museum plays an important role in architecture and design education, publishing research-based knowledge, and providing access to materials related to architecture and design.

Board of AD Museum Ltd

Kaarina Gould (Chair), CEO, Finnish Architecture and Design Museum Foundation
Pauli Sivonen (Vice Chair), Director, Serlachius Museums
Laura Aalto, Director of Communications, Aalto University
Heli Lehtonen, Director of Administration and Finance, Metsähallitus
Jenni Reuter, Architect SAFA, Professor
Petri Tervonen, Director of Business Operations, Berner
Jemina Vainikka Lindholm, Head of Public Programmes, Architecture & Design Museum

Museum Director, CEO:
Pilvi Kalhama

Finnish Architecture and Design Museum Foundation

Finnish Architecture and Design Museum Foundation

The Finnish Architecture and Design Museum Foundation owns AD-museo Oy, which operates the museum, and manages a significant national collection of architecture and design. The foundation supports the museum’s activities, promotes the visibility of architecture and design, and is responsible for establishing the new museum in Helsinki’s South Harbour. The foundation also owns the museum’s internationally unique collections.

Board:

Timo Laitinen (Chair), LL. M.
Anne Korkiakoski (Vice Chair), Professional Board Member
Mikko Aho, Architect
Jannica Fagerholm, Managing Director, Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation
Pauli Kariniemi, Director General, Ministry of Finance
Susanna Pettersson, CEO, Finnish Cultural Foundation
Anna Valtonen, Rector, Konstfack – University of Arts, Crafts and Design (Sweden)
Merja Ylä-Anttila, Media Industry Thought Leader

CEO:
Kaarina Gould

Real Estate Company ADM

Alongside the Finnish Architecture and Design Museum Foundation, Kiinteistö Oy ADM—owned by the City of Helsinki and the Government of Finland—advances the architectural and design museum building project and is responsible for the construction of the new museum building.

Board:

Juha Lemström (Chair), Architect
Mikko Aho (Vice Chair), Architect
Juha Ahonen, Head of the Culture and Leisure Division, City of Helsinki
Seidi Kivisyrjä, Head of Housing Production, City of Helsinki
Jukka Kumara, MSc
Tero Meltti, Senior Ministerial Adviser (Financial Affairs), Ministry of Finance

CEO:

Mauri Sahi
mauri.sahi@admuseo.fi