The Helsinki Effect: Public Alternatives to the Guggenheim Model of Culture-Driven Development

Helsinki is the chosen site for the Guggenheim Museum's latest effort to replicate the much-contested "Bilbao Effect." Advocates of better methods for fusing the arts and urbanism combined to launch an alternative design competition in 2015. The Next Helsinki helped to amplify a public debate about the role of culture in civic health and economic development that has consequences far beyond the Finnish case-study.

In addition to cataloging the hundreds of entries from dozens of countries, The Helsinki Effect includes essays by leading urbanists, artists, and architects about the significance of the competition and the principles that inspired it.

UR10 The Helsinki Effect

Editors: Terike Haapoja, Andrew Ross, and Michael Sorkin

Contributors: Miguel Robles-Durán; Terike Haapoja; Juhani Pallasmaa; Andrew Ross; Michael Sorkin; Kaarin Taipale; Mabel Wilson; Sharon Zukin

"Responding to a competition for the design of a new Guggenheim Museum in Helsinki, the authors contributing to this volume deconstruct the values underlying use of the arts to promote economic competitiveness. The uniqueness of this edited book lies in its focus on the commodification of artistic achievement and the ensuing failure to foster local creativity. In investigating the impact of brand-name institutions on construction labor, art markets, and city life, it is an important addition to the critical urban studies literature." --- Susan S. Fainstein, Senior Research Fellow, Harvard Graduate School of Design

" The Next Helsinki showed that there is great potential for imagining a lively, attractive city that grows out of the unique culture of the region. The Helsinki Effect opens a needed view to global conversations in city planning and art. Recommended reading for everybody interested in art, Helsinki, or both! --- Ilona Anhava, Gallerist, Gallery Anhava, Helsinki