The City of Turku in Finland has revealed the 401 entries to its international competition for a new waterfront Museum of History and the Future

The competition – launched in partnership with the Finnish Association of Architects and featuring a €175,000 prize fund – sought ‘bold and visionary’ proposals for a ‘world’s first’ museum which responds to the unique history and environment of its waterfront site and provides a new landmark for the region.

All 401 concepts anonymously submitted to the contest are now being exhibited in an online gallery which will remain open for public comment until 7 April.

The winning concept will be constructed next to Turku’s historic 740-year-old castle. The contest launched last summer – three years after Lithuanian-Finnish team After Party won a competition to rethink the surrounding Linnanniemi waterfront.

Competition site: Museum of History and the Future, Finland

The new 7,000m² museum is one of several new commercial, tourism and public space uses planned for the cape on the west bank for the Aura River Delta, which will be freed up for development following the reorganisation of existing ferry terminals in 2025.

Timo Hintsanen, Turku City’s planning director and member of the competition jury, said: ‘An interesting design subject in a great location has attracted an incredibly high-quality and broad group of participants.

‘The jury's extensive evaluation work is still in early days. However, it is clear that from the diverse and high-quality competition proposals, a design will emerge that we can enthusiastically commit to.’

Turku is the oldest city in Finland and was the country’s principal settlement until Helsinki was made the capital in 1812. Turku Castle occupies a key waterfront site, overlooking the entrance by river to the city, and is currently surrounded by several ferry terminals and other port buildings.

Key aims of the competition include creating a new facility that focusses on stories of history and the possibilities of the future, balancing sustainable development with ‘aesthetic, functional and technical-economical’ solutions.

The project, planned to complete in 2029, will deliver a new energy efficient and climate resistant structure featuring ‘interior spaces that are excellently suited for the intended purpose, and ecology.’

The building – planned for a prominent 13,920m² waterfront site next to Forum Marinum Maritime Centre and Turku Castle – will feature exhibition halls along with an auditorium, cloakrooms, shop, a restaurant and café and external landscaping. Designs will also need to provide for a potential 2,500 m² extension in the future.

Judges will include Hintsanen, Turku's mayor Minna Arve; the city’s culture director Anu Laitila; Juhani Ruohonen, head of museum services; and the architect Mari Virtanen.

The overall winner, to be announced in June 2024, will receive a €70,000 prize and see their concept taken forward for construction.  A second prize of €45,000 and third prize of €30,000 will also be awarded along with three ‘purchases’ each worth €10,000.

Competition site: Museum of History and the Future, Finland