The foundations for the Design Museum and the Museum of Finnish Architecture will merge into the Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design on January 1, 2024. AD Museum Ltd. will take over the operations and business activities of both museums. The activities of the Museum of Finnish Architecture and the Design Museum will continue at their familiar addresses in Helsinki's Kaartinkaupunki area.

Preparations for the new national museum of architecture and design are progressing, with the foundations for the Design Museum and the Museum of Finnish Architecture due to merge into the Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design at the beginning of 2024. A newly-established company, AD Museum Ltd. will work in collaboration with its parent foundation to maintain the operations of the current museums and promote the establishment of the new museum.

"The museum project is proceeding as planned. Over the coming years, the Design Museum and the Museum of Finnish Architecture will continue to operate in their current buildings as separate museum brands. However, the common goal is the establishment of the New Museum of Architecture and Design, along with the delivery of a new building in Helsinki's Makasiiniranta area," says Kaarina Gould, CEO of the Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design, and Chair of the new museum company's board

The Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design has appointed experts in architecture, design, museum management, business development, communications, leadership, sustainability, and staff development to its panel of board members: Laura Aalto, Communications Director, Aalto University; Kaarina Gould, CEO, Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design (Chair); Jenni Reuter, Professor, Architect SAFA; Mikael Silvanto, Designer, Entrepreneur; Pauli Sivonen, Museum Director, Serlachius Museums (Vice Chair); Petri Tervonen, Business Director, Fiskars; and Katri Viippola, CEO, Association for Finnish Work. Pauli Sivonen and Mikael Silvanto have previously served on the board of the Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design. A staff representative will also be appointed to the board as of the beginning of 2024.

Jukka Savolainen, who has served as Director of the Design Museum since 2012 (M.A.), has been appointed as the CEO of the museum company during the transitional period as the new museum is established. Carina Jaatinen, Director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture since 2020 (M.Sc.), will be in charge of content services for the new museum company.

"I am truly delighted that we have been able to assemble a museum board whose members bring such wide ranging, top-notch expertise from various fields to their new roles. I am also thankful for the leadership teams of both merging museums, and the commitment they’ve shown to advancing our common goal in their new roles. I believe that this project aligns with many of our current objectives, further enhancing the vitality of Helsinki and raising Finland's international profile," explains Gould.

Museum activities continue at familiar addresses

The museum staff and operations will transition to the new museum company as part of the merger of the foundations.

"In addition to administrative integration, collaboration between the museums will be even closer than before – spanning both museum buildings, “Garden Futures: Designing with Nature,” the first joint exhibition between the two museums, is scheduled to open in November 2023," Gould reveals.

A new national museum of architecture and design is coming to Helsinki, Finland. Foundation for the Finnish Museum of Architecture and Design, established in 2022, has composed an implementation plan for the museum, based on which the final funding decisions can be made during 2023. The new museum will merge the Museum of Finnish Architecture, the Design Museum, and their unique collections into one. A new museum building is being planned on Helsinki’s historic seafront, in the South Harbour’s Makasiiniranta district.‍