by Rory Stott
#GuggenheimHKI longlist designs are out. Some beauties and some fearful horrors http://t.co/MDOGs8XO5u pic.twitter.com/BXRiW1BAVC
— Rob Fiehn (@Rob_Fiehn) October 22, 2014The news that every single one of the 1,715 designs for the future Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki have been released via a new competition website was understandably something of a media storm earlier this week. As the largest ever set of proposals to be simultaneously released to the public, how could anyone possibly come to terms with the sheer number and quality of the designs – let alone all the other issues which the proposals shed light on?
In this instance, the answer to that question is simple: get help. Guggenheim Helsinki will arguably go down in history as the prototypical competition for the social media age, not just for releasing the designs to the public but for their platform which enables people to select favorites, and compile and share shortlists. In the days since the website launched, Twitter users have risen to the challenge. See what some of them had to say after the break.
Some critics took the opportunity to criticize the quality of the designs in their totality. Here we have the V&A Museum’s Curator of Contemporary Architecture & Urbanism and the author of Future Practice: Conversations from the Edge of Architecture:
I have seen the future of architecture and it is in poor health http://t.co/vzGnzyXMQh!
— Rory Hyde (@roryhyde) October 22, 2014And here, the author of The Architecture of Failure:
My LORD the Helsinki Guggenheim entries are inept
— Douglas Murphy (@entschwindet) October 22, 2014A little more helpfully, many were selecting their favorites from the thousands of entries (though we suspect not all are being entirely sincere):
BOOM. Found one I actually really like. The Guggenheim as a refurbed cargo ship. pic.twitter.com/RutXiKgqE1
— Dr Crystal Bennes (@crystalbennes) October 22, 2014Wait, I take it all back. This has blown my mind pic.twitter.com/u7TYfFCkSf
— Dave (@DLequeu) October 22, 2014#submarine entry for #GuggenheimHKI. Speechless. http://t.co/MDOGs8XO5u pic.twitter.com/aWY6bh1xUW
— Rob Fiehn (@Rob_Fiehn) October 22, 2014This is one of the nicest #guggenheimhelsinki entries I've seen http://t.co/Pq8ha6hX16
— Cate St.Hill (@catesthill) October 22, 2014Does anyone know why there is a Sumo Wrestler on the roof of this Guggenheim Helsinki design?
#TheOneWithTheSumo pic.twitter.com/FfjGbyqgOS
— Master Prophet (@tomravenscroft) October 22, 2014Still others were commenting on the sheer amount of wasted work on display. Head of Central Saint Martins School in London Jeremy Till is well-known for his stance on architectural competitions, and used the opportunity to drive his point home:
What if that time, energy, skill and in some cases intelligence of Guggenheim had been turned to something useful? http://t.co/GUpchLSnRI!
— Jeremy Till (@jeremytill) October 22, 2014As @greentriangleuk notes the Guggenheim process is 0.058% energy efficient. Would any other system do this to itself?
— Jeremy Till (@jeremytill) October 22, 2014@waitey estimating 400 hours per entry = 342 yrs of a working life. But if the Sumo wins @tom_ravenscroft then it'll be worth it.
— Chris Bryant (@_chrisbryant) October 22, 2014Some seemed less concerned by the architecture itself and more concerned by the content of the renders produced:
Also, someone's put flamingos in their Guggenheim render! Flamingos. In Helsinki. Riiiiight. pic.twitter.com/hoBF3sZ3tI
— Dr Crystal Bennes (@crystalbennes) October 22, 2014@skalgubbar is the real winner of #GuggenheimHKI competition.
Their cutout are in almost all the projects
#skalgubbar #architecture #cutout
— archdigestion (@archdigestion) October 23, 2014Guggenheim Helsinki Competition A.K.A Spot the Jeff Koons #JeffKoons A.K.A. architects only know fads http://t.co/otaBC5C8QA via @archdaily
— SLyons (@sarahalyons) October 23, 2014And finally, could we really say that the Guggenheim Helsinki Competition was created for social media without the emergence of a lighthearted campaign?
@_chrisbryant @waitey lets start a campaign - #BackTheSumo
— Master Prophet (@tomravenscroft) October 23, 2014Despite all that’s been said, there’s still plenty to talk about. Join the discussion on twitter, or add to the comments section on our previous article:
See all the entries here.
Twitter Reacts to 1,715 Guggenheim Designs originally appeared on ArchDaily, the most visited architecture website on October 26, 2014.
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