An international jury revealed six shortlisted designs for a Guggenheim art museum in Helsinki, despite political uncertainty over its affordability.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, which has hugely popular and architecturally innovative museums in New York, Bilbao and Venice, as well as one under construction in Abu Dhabi, announced in 2012 it wanted to add Helsinki to its stable of contemporary art spaces.

The museum would focus on Nordic and international architecture and design.

Wood as a building material features prominently, in a nod to the Nordic country’s vast forests. The shortlisted candidates, picked anonymously by the jury out of 1,715 entries from 77 countries, are based in the UK, Switzerland, France, Spain, Germany, Australia and the US.

The winner will be announced in June, after which the city of Helsinki will reconsider whether to proceed with construction.

The city board in 2012 narrowly voted down the plan for a project estimated to cost €140 million, due to worries that much of the expense would be borne by taxpayers. However, earlier this year the board allowed the foundation to proceed with the architectural competition, which proponents of the project hope will bolster popular enthusiasm.