Musée National des Beaux-Arts (MNBAQ), Quebec

About

The extension of the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec sits amid the other three existing institutional buildings creating a complex on the edge of the park. The project tries to establish new relationships between the green areas and the adjacent streets, aside from addressing many of the contradictions of the place. The required new galleries are stacked in three volumes of decreasing size: the temporary exhibitions (50x50 m), the permanent modern and contemporary collections (45x35 m), and design/Inuit exhibits (42.5x25 m). The volumes are staggered, so on ground level a large hall opens up to the city, sheltered under a dramatic twenty-meter cantilever. In this way, the extension respects and preserves St. Dominique Church, and at the same time creates a persuasive presence on the avenue. On the opposite facade, a terraced front rounds off the galleries with outdoor spaces that spill into the park, which is thereby extended towards the museum. The new building connects with the museum’s existing buildings by a passageway that changes in elevation, and creates a surprising mixture of gallery spaces that lead the visitor, as if by chance, to the rest of the museum complex... [+]

Sources

• Arquitectura Viva