MINIMUM.MUSEUM
The main challenge of designing of Helsinki Guggenheim Museum is to answer this question:
What does Guggenheim museum give to the city of Helsinki?

Architecture takes from the city, and gives back to it; like what Guggenheim museums have done in Bilbao and Abu-Dhabi, with their iconic buildings. But in the context of a city like Helsinki, the museum won't do but to take from the city. The scale of the project compared to the city context and its fabric, and the site of the project being located in the borderline between the historical zone and the harbor, makes the regarding of the context a sensitive priority.
The site is located along the city plaza, which includes all the urban activities of the south harbor, from “Market square” to south side of the port. The main design idea was to scheme a link from this plaza towards “Tahititornin Vouri park” in the south west side of the site, on the opposite side of the “Skeppsbrogatan street”.
Thus, there is an urban foot bridge in north part of the site including urban and museum-related activities. The two entrances of the museum are placed on and below this bridge. In other words, it is possible to enter the museum while crossing the bridge, and when exiting the building, you'll be in the way of the activities going on in the plaza, of which the bridge is a part.

The approach to designing of Helsinki Guggenheim museum regarding the city scale and the skyline resulted in its horizontal expansion. Studying building typology of the city, in order to match the museum with its context, lead to a cubic introverted building with a central courtyard. Even on the longest days of year from April to August, in which daylight lasts 17 hours on average, the shadowing of the peripheral walls will facilitate utilization of interior spaces of the museum.
Circulation
The idea of building museum in the path of the city plaza challenges the security (which is a key element to healthy functioning of the museum) and the circulation of the building. Consequently, galleries and main halls were placed inside a box alongside the bridge and the plaza. Each space is accessible through two ramps, one around the wooden box, and the other one inside of it.

Both security and light controlling issues in the exhibition spaces of the museum leads the main building to solidity and opacity. On the other hand, the activities and relations inside of the museum need to be clear and legible, so it asks for transparency. Therefore the building was shaped in two intertwined volumes around the central void (atrium and project space).

The volume inside the wooden box, which is perceivable from both inside and outside of the project, is wrapped in a glass box.

The space order is from outer spaces (more transparent), to inner ones (more opaque). The more public spaces are beside a glass body: restaurant, café, lounges beside exhibition spaces, retail, administrative, and more popular galleries. The more private ones are located in the solid core of the building: galleries showing museum's collection and exhibition halls.
The connection of the public and private to semi-public, like flexible performances and some of the galleries, is attained through the two ramps mentioned earlier.
The shadow casting of the roof edges and utilizing high-tech glasses that’s its translucency and transparency is adjustable helps daylight control for the museum spaces function.