Architecture competition for Malmö’s new art museum launches

Today, the prequalification stage opens for the invited architectural competition for Malmö’s new art museum. Five teams will be selected to develop competition proposals. The winner will be announced in summer 2027.

Malmö’s new art museum in Kungsparken will be a powerful addition to the pulse of the city – a dynamic and inclusive meeting place for art and people, new ideas and creativity. Here, in the heart of the city, in the heart of Malmö’s oldest park, the City’s collection of over 40,000 works can be shown in modern and accessible premises, with space for both local and international contemporary art as well as historical works.

The purpose of the competition is to achieve inspiring proposals that are well-planned for the specific location, economically and environmentally robust and of high architectural quality.

- The architectural competition for Malmö Art Museum is a much-anticipated milestone and the start of a project that will be of great importance to Malmö. A new art museum will create new opportunities for everyone in Malmö to experience the museum’s outstanding collection, at the same time as strengthening the city’s appeal far beyond Malmö, says Annika Cedhagen, Director of Culture for the City of Malmö.

- We want to see architecture that offers people from Malmö new ways of experiencing art, and that uses art to create new ways of experiencing Malmö. This is a generational opportunity to explore what a Malmöitisk art museum can be today, and we are really looking forward to seeing how diverse, multidisciplinary teams take on the challenge, says Finn Williams, City Architect of Malmö.

About Malmö’s new art museum

The restaurant pavilion in Kungsparken, which has previously housed a restaurant and a casino among other things, will become the new home of Malmö Art Museum together with a new extension. The competition will explore how existing and new architecture can be brought together into a coherent whole.

The location in Kungsparken places Malmö’s art collection close to the city centre and as part of a central cultural corridor, nearby established meeting places such as Malmö Opera, Konsthallen, Malmö Museum, the City Library and Malmö Live.

About the competition

The competition brief is to develop a concept and design for a site-specific art museum and its immediate surroundings, with well-designed spaces. In addition to exhibition spaces, the new art museum will also accommodate a range of other functions, such as a library, museum shop, restaurant, event hall, makerspace, artists’ studios and the institution’s working environment.

The competition will be conducted in two stages, beginning with a prequalification process. The City of Malmö is now issuing an open international invitation outlining the competition, to which teams can submit expressions of interest. Five teams will then be selected among the applicants and commissioned to develop one competition proposal each. The competition will be conducted anonymously and in accordance with the Swedish Public Procurement Act (LOU).

The jury is expected to announce the winning proposal in summer 2027.

Contact

Katarina Pamp, communications officer serviceförvaltningen, katarina.pamp@malmo.se, 0709-841121

Sofia Cronhamn, communications officer stadsbyggnadskontoret, sofia.cronhamn@malmo.se, 0709-342474