A Quarter Century from ARMI to Kumma

In 2001, an architectural competition was held for the design of ARMI, a joint information center for architecture, construction, and design, to be located on Katajanokanranta. The competition was won by the young Helsinki-based architectural firm JKMM. The ARMI building was never constructed. Now, 24 years later, the same firm has won an international architectural competition for a new architecture and design museum on the opposite shore with their proposal, “Kumma.”

JKMM Architects is currently one of Finland’s most successful architectural firms, with a portfolio that includes numerous major public buildings, ranging from libraries to cultural centers and museums. In 2001, the firm had just won the design competition for Turku Main Library, marking its founding, like many Finnish architectural offices, through the success of a competition.

Anne Stenros’ vision for a shared center

The idea for ARMI, the Architecture, Construction, and Design Information Centre, originated from Anne Stenros, then CEO of Design Forum Finland, an architect and Doctor of Technology. Planning for the project began in 1999, with a site already allocated at Katajanokka near the Canal Terminal.

The ARMI initiative involved several partners, including Design Forum Finland, the Museum of Finnish Architecture (now the Architecture Museum), the Building Information Foundation, the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA), the Finnish Association of Civil Engineers (RIL), Ornamo, Grafia, and the City of Helsinki. The project progressed to an architectural competition but was ultimately discontinued when some partners withdrew, partly due to funding challenges.

The circle has come full circle

“The circle has now come full circle,” says Anne Stenros. A new joint Architecture and Design Museum is set to be realized just a few hundred meters away, with the same architectural firm at the helm. Over the past decades, the designers’ vision has become clearer and more refined, Stenros notes.

In the early 2000s, while serving as CEO of Design Forum Finland, Stenros recognized the potential benefits of collaboration and shared spaces for the design fields. At that time, funding was tight, and the construction sector was still recovering from the 1990s recession. It took several more decades — and another economic downturn — before the timing was right for a renewed collaborative initiative.

The significance of design in Finland has been recognized for at least 150 years. The Design Museum originated in 1873 from a collection acquired at the Vienna World Exhibition. The Architecture Museum was established in 1956, making it the second-oldest museum of its kind in the world.

Since at least the 1950s, architecture and design have played a central role in shaping Finland’s national identity. Intentional public relations efforts, led in part by the Finnish Society of Crafts and Design, promoted Finnish design internationally through exhibitions and export initiatives.

The new museum carries high expectations not only from the design and architecture communities but also from Helsinki’s city authorities and the tourism sector. Its location could not be more strategic: in the heart of the city, continuing the legacy of Empire and Jugend-style Helsinki, while serving as a flagship of contemporary Finnish architecture.

In the urban landscape, public buildings have historically been prominent and distinctive. For centuries, churches, castles, and government palaces dominated the cityscape, typically accompanied by a plaza or square. The new museum aims to honor this tradition while contributing a modern architectural landmark.

Museums — relatively recent additions to the cityscape — may not stand out by location alone, but as buildings they are substantial. Growing technical requirements for both public facilities and museum and research functions increase their scale. For example, the Ateneum was once a massive art museum on the edge of Rautatientori, yet the space available for exhibitions today occupies only a portion of the overall building.

Both the ARMI project and the new AD Museum take careful account of their surroundings. ARMI responded to the Empire-style buildings along the Kauppatori waterfront, much like Alvar Aalto’s Sokeritopa headquarters for Enso-Gutzeit, which similarly respected the existing urban fabric without exceeding the height of older buildings. Likewise, the AD Museum will remain lower than Tähtitorninvuori, allowing historic buildings to remain visible behind it. According to the competition jury, “Kumma integrates with its environment, respecting the cityscape, while simultaneously standing out as a recognizable landmark. Valued sightlines from Tähtitorninvuori towards Kauppatori and Katajanokka are preserved.”

Functionally, ARMI and the AD Museum differ, which is reflected in their architecture. ARMI was primarily intended to house the offices of project partners, alongside spaces for architecture and design exhibitions. The forthcoming AD Museum focuses on exhibitions and research, serving as a national responsibility museum for the fields.

Exhibition spaces require high-quality lighting, but direct sunlight is undesirable. This is evident in the new AD Museum’s plans, where public areas such as lobbies and restaurants open outward, while the exhibition halls are contained within enclosed blocks.

Architectural competition proposals are always conceptual, and the final execution may change significantly. JKMM’s “Kumma” has been critiqued for its massing, and further development aims to make the building feel more approachable.

Through detailed design, human scale is incorporated — a traditional strength of Finnish architecture. The competition proposal’s terrace views over the city’s harbor have been praised. Helsinki residents value access to the waterfront, and integrating these views into the architecture is considered essential.

The Role of the Museum in a Changing World

In its implementation plan, the new museum is envisioned as a “museum of making the future” – a future shaped through the tools of architecture and design. At the same time, the future is always built upon what already exists, preserved and studied by museums.

Anne Stenros notes that in an age where everyone can create content via social media, curators no longer need to define what is worthy of display. The role of the museum is changing. Instead, it could craft a narrative – a story of where we have come from and where we are headed. In this context, the story itself becomes more important than the individual works or their creators.

Stenros also raises a critical question: are design and architecture still foundational to Finland’s identity for future generations? While expertise and history do not vanish, their significance may shift, requiring museums to find new ways to engage audiences.

She hopes the museum will embrace creative courage, presenting something truly unique that points toward a more sustainable and responsible future, while still serving as a collective memory in line with its core mission.

From the terraces of the future museum, visitors will enjoy expansive views of Kauppatori, Katajanokka, and the Esplanade in Helsinki’s vibrant city center. The architecture thus reflects what the museum ultimately aims to showcase: the human-made and designed physical environment of everyday life, from small objects to entire buildings – an area where Finnish expertise excels.

Anne Veinola

The author is an architect and a retired communications specialist from Design Forum Finland.

Article cover image: JKMM Architects / Mir
In-article image: Scale model of the ARMI building, Design Forum Finland