I just read in the Helsingin Sanomat that the Armi Centre in Helsinki is to be cancelled. It would have acted as a focal point, at least for tourists anyway, of Finnish Design Culture right in the centre of Helsinki. Some of the key clients pulled out of the project, and when your clients no longer have need for the proposed building immediate cancellation was inevitable I guess. JKMM won the competition with a really nice if a little reserved entry, which will now never see the light of day. Helsingin Sanomat published another article at the same time questioning why Helsinki doesn’t have an iconic building a la the Bilbao Guggenheim and asking whether now is the time to acquire one. But we should tread carefully, Iconic buildings are harder to design than you think, and I think that many of the great cities of the world are so because of their wider urban qualities rather than one single building, I’m thinking Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, New York, even Bilbao fits in here. Whatever the merits of this particular project were this site is perfect for a high profile building of some sort.