New Guggenheim-Hermitage Museum for Vilnius

UK-based Zaha Hadid Architects has unveiled its winning design for a new Guggenheim-Hermitage Museum and cultural centre in Vilnius, Lithuania. The new centre for international art will house pieces from collections of both the New York based Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the St. Petersburg based State Hermitage Museum.

The Pritzker prize-winning architect was awarded the competition ahead of fellow architects Daniel Libeskind and Massimiliano Fuksas.

Subject to the results of a feasibility study to be carried out later this year, it could open in early 2011.

Commenting on the win Zaha Hadid said, "I am delighted to be working in Vilnius on the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum. The city will be the European Capital of Culture in 2009 and has a long history of art patronage. With such an interest in the arts, Vilnius will continue to develop as a cultural centre where the connection between culture and public life is critical. This museum will be a place where you can experiment with the idea of galleries, spatial complexity and movement."