lahdelma & mahlamäki proposes spiraling siege of leningrad museum for saint petersburg

helsinki-based firm lahdelma & mahlamäki architects has unveiled its competition proposal for the ‘museum for the defense and siege of leningrad’, an institution planned for st petersburg, russia. titled ‘requiem’, the spiral-shaped design is buried in the landscape, with its exhibition halls buried in a vast cavern below ground. the visitor route corkscrews out the ground, offering views of the city beyond.

all images by brick visual, courtesy of lahdelma & mahlamäki architects

developed in partnership with ralph appelbaum associates, lahdelma & mahlamäki’s proposal includes three primary components: the ‘thread of life’, which refers to the sunken museum and exhibition center; the ‘memorial of heroes of leningrad’, a long, low wall dedicated to the resistance and the siege; and the ‘square of testimony’, an inverted stepped pyramid that sits at the center of the park, providing a place for contemplation and meditation.

the spiraling visitor route corkscrews out the ground

the north end of the site is raised to block out vehicular noise and maintain a tranquil environment. meanwhile, a natural meadow of wild flowers and grasses aims to connect the museum to the city and its neo-classical grid. ‘this approach helps resolve issues of connectivity and accessibility on both a city-wide and local level,’ explains the architects. ‘these additions help turn the site into a space of significance which connects the existing history to its history, which could welcome tourists and at the same time be taken by the city inhabitants as their own.’

lahdelma & mahlamäki’s plans made it into the competition’s final four entries, but ultimately lost out to a design from russian practice studio44.

the spiral-shaped design is buried in the landscape

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project info:

lahdelma & mahlamäki architects:
ilmari lahdelma and rainer mahlamäki with jukka savolainen, taavi henttonen, shaun leung, klaudia golaszewska, kateryna rybenchuk and yehan zhang
exhibition design: rick sobel, ralph appelbaum associates
advisors: markus lähteenmäki, anastasia basova
visualization: brick visual
scale model: seppo rajakoski