Bilbao says yes to Guggenheim museum in Helsinki

The executive committee of the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum granted on Thursday its consent to the building of a 140 million euro ($178 mln) museum on the Helsinki waterfront as this project "does not pose a threat" for the Basque museum.

Approval by the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum was a requirement for the Helsinki project to continue as the Bilbao-based museum has right to veto any other museums of the North-American franchise in Europe.

On a press release, the executive committee of the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum points out that both museums "target visitors from different geographic origins" and "their respective conceptual models, far from being rivals, would work as collaboration spaces".

Helsinki waterfront

The new museum would be built on a city-owned site in Helsinki's south harbour, next to the Alvar Aalto-designed headquarters of Finnish forest company Stora Enso.

Its 140 million euro estimate includes the construction and design of the museum. The Guggenheim is also counting on public, private and corporate funding to cover operating costs.

The Guggenheim chose Helsinki due to strong local interest and tradition in art and design, as well as the city's plans to develop its harbour properties. It also noted the city lacked a significant modern art collection, a gap it said the museum could fill and help draw tourists.