Sharing – Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation , Espoo/ Finnland

Organized by
The Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation in collaboration with:
SAFA - Finnish Association of Architects
EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art
 
Jury
Juhani Pallasmaa – Architect, Professor Emeritus, Chairman
Mikko Heikkinen – Architect, Professor, Heikkinen-Komonen Architects
Pilvi Kalhama – Museum Director, EMMA – the Espoo Museum of Modern Art
Emmi Keskisarja – Architect, announced by SAFA – Finnish Association of Architects
Laura Sarvilinna – Programme Director, The Finnish Fair Corporation
Special Advisors
Eva Franch i Gilabert – Chief Curator and Executive Director of Storefront for Art and Architecture
Jaana Jalonen – Chairman, City of Espoo Board of Culture
 
Prizes
The total prize sum in the competition was 20.000 €. The jury was free to distribute the prize money at its discretion. The jury selected five entries that were awarded five shared first prizes, all worth 4.000 €. Tax exemption was applied for the prizes. The payments were made via Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation.
 
Competition goals
The Tapio Wirkkala Rut Bryk Foundation currently maintains a collection of over 5000 items. Ranging from final products to preliminary sketches and models, the scope and variety of the collection makes it challenging to exhibit in a cohesive manner. Though the Foundation seeks to establish a permanent presence for the collection, the aim is not simply to create a repository of idealized objects. The Foundation aims to challenge the existing paradigm for museums and archives and to consider the new possibilities for an archive to become a place for sharing, exploring and cultivating a discourse on design. The collection contains documents from all stages of the design process: drawings, models, working tools, sketches, prototypes and final products. The collection also contains a wide variety of personal effects such as artwork and photographs and slides of family journeys to all parts of the world. The Foundation sees tremendous potential in the collection to contribute to a broader design discourse by providing intimate insight into the inspirations, themes and thinking processes of Tapio Wirkkala and Rut Bryk.
Participants in the competition were asked to propose ways of presenting this collection, to develop a context through which to relate with the objects in the archive. To consider the design archive as an accessible and relatable public establishment, fundamentally means reflecting on the role of design itself and how it relates to the general public. In this light, a key task of the competition was for competitors to consider the changing definitions of design and to establish a position on the relationship between design and society today. The Wirkkala-Bryk Archive strives to develop flows and rhythms with the world to become an active and constantly renewing source of inspiration and critical resonance to the field of design.
To accommodate the broadest range of interpretations and to make the competition as diverse and open as possible, the competition was launched without a predetermined room programme. The competition simply presented the contents of the archive in a digital form as the subject of the competition. Competitors were encouraged to form diverse multi-disciplinary teams and submit entries that reflect their combined expertise. Will the future archive be an outstanding work of architecture? An interactive display network? A curatorial framework? With the Sharing - Wirkkala-Bryk Archive Competition, we hope to have inspired a discussion on the definition of an archive today.
 
 
 
Award-winning entries
 
Shared 1. Prize (4.000€) “The Give Collection”
Author: Simon Örnberg
The proposal suggests a digital complementary “twin” collection. The main objective is in creating digital models of the archive articles containing metadata related to each object. The digital collection consists of AIMs (article information model) of every archive piece. Both the curators and the users participate in producing the information thus making the virtual collection ever evolving and enlarging. The Give Collection can be viewed with three different modes; virtual collection for inspiration seekers, browse collections for detail hungry researchers as well as physical visitors at EMMA.
The proposal concentrates in the act of sharing, as a shared online experience, sharing information and personal views, and in linking the archive to existing social media platforms. The Give Collection is targeted for different user-groups divided to virtual and physical experiences. The entry was created by Simon Örnberg from Finland.
 
Shared 1. Prize (4.000€) “TRAILS”
Authors: Johanna Brummer and Heini-Emilia Saari
The proposal sees the archive as a vast yet elusive landscape… where curatorial paths await discovery. A total of 1000 randomly selected objects are placed in a chequered shelf structure on the walls lining the space. The presentation is altered according to the situation: need for a loan, by request or arbitrarily. The shelves light up according to the visitor´s wishes, illuminating a customized trail through the works of Wirkkala and Bryk. Compass screens implanted in the shelf structures on four different walls showcase exhibits or stored objects. The screens react according to the visitors’ selections, and also connect to urban satellites in other locations outside EMMA, such as MoMA. The central part of the space can host forum workshops, discussions and other events. A frame composed of massive wooden tables, functions as a centerpiece for different gatherings. The entry was created by Johanna Brummer and Heini-Emilia Saari from Finland.
 
Shared 1. Prize (4.000€) “MAP”
Authors: Chiara Montgomerie and Maria Jose Orihuela
The concept concentrates in creating a parallel between the act of everyday-decision-making and curating. The project consists of a physical archive in EMMA and a digital platform that states to challenge the archive experience. The physical space is a container of the archive objects and serves as a place for workshops, cinemas and exhibitions. The project solves the prospective archive exhaustion with a digitally curated wayfinding. The experience in the archive will be supplemented with digital suggestions. The proposed app allows user to select images and based on the selection, suggests a route and a possible match with a previously curated exhibition. The physical museum concept for EMMA is compiled with the interplay of solid and void, preserving and sharing. The entry was created by Chiara Montgomerie and María Jose Orihuela from the United Kingdom.
 
Shared 1. Prize (4.000€) “Elävä arkisto”
Authors: Emmanuel Laux and Sebastian Weindauer
In this proposal, the archive itself is the exhibition. It is stated that due to the heterogeneous nature of the material, a toolkit is required. The challenge of the task is presented in a mechanical manner. The DNA of the project is a modular rail system that would permit archive shelves to be moved around, changing the structure of the space to fit different needs. The ceiling rails would make it possible to move the shelves and walls around, and the space could also be rearranged further with curtains. The shelf units would leave room for research desks, and events such as lectures, etc. The system comes integrated with full technical support and lighting structures. The exhibition items would be stored in containers that serve both storing and exhibiting purposes. The containers are placed on movable shelves. Parts of the exhibition could also be easily transplanted elsewhere in blocks. The entry was created by Emmanuel Laux and Sebastian Weindauer from Germany.
 
Shared 1. Prize (4.000€) ”Sancho Ponza”
Author: Philip Tidwell
The entry boldly proposes a new method of navigation, searching and curating. The proposal suggests the archive to be a place for playfulness and observation. The idea is that a visitor of the archive can request certain items from a computer program which controls a robot arm handing the selected item to a rotating belt. The spatial organization is a simple layered model where circular shelves are enclosing protected items. The inner part contains selection of archived items and working space for researchers, curators, etc. The middle circle is reserved for the robotic arm moving and reorganizing items based on visitors’ wishes. The outermost part serves as a space for larger objects and exhibition. The entry was created by Philip Tidwell from the United States.
The competition jury