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237 competitions documented	477 competitions listed
6 119 projects	63 435 documents

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Competitor

OMA / Provencher Roy et Associés, architectes (2e étape)

Winner

Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec / National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec

Stage 1

Stage 2

Section

developped of the MNBAQ circuit / stage 1

Plan

basement level 1 - auditorium, lobby and tunnel / stage 1

Plan

ground floor - great hall and temporary exhibition / stage 1

Plan

level 2 - permanent exhibition / stage 1

Plan

level 3 - inuit art and design gallery / stage 1

Section

entrance on Grande-Allee / stage 1

Section

exhibition rooms / stage 1

Section

tunnel / stage 1

Section

longitudinal in perspective towards the church / stage 1

Section

transversal / stage 1

Plan

basement level 1M - auditorium and cloakroom / stage 1

Schema

windows framing views / stage 1

Section

sustainability / stage 1

Elevation

alongside Grande-Allée / stage 1

Photograph of Model

ward / stage 1

Photograph of Model

passageway / stage 1

Photograph of Model

exhibition / stage 1

Photograph of Model

aerial north-east view / stage 1

Photograph of Model

from the park / stage 1

Photograph of Model

ward / stage 1

Perspective

various interiors / stage 1

Presentation Panel

no.2 / stage 1

Schema

conceptual / stage 1

Schema

conceptual / stage 1

Perspective

night view from Grande-Allee / stage 1

Perspective

from Grande-Allee / stage 1

Perspective

courtyard / stage 1

Perspective

interior / stage 1

Perspective

interior / stage 1

Perspective

interior / stage 1

Presentation Panel

no.1 / stage 1

Perspective

volumetry / stage 1

Perspective

east aerial view / stage 1

Schema

program distribution / stage 1

Schema

artery / stage 1

Schema

traffic / stage 1

Schema

collections and museum strategies / stage 1

Schema

connection with the park / stage 1

Schema

program / stage 1

Plan

mass / stage 1

Section

transversal / stage 2

Perspective

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Elevation

east / stage 2

Elevation

south / stage 2

Elevation

west / stage 2

Descriptive Chart

LEED control list / stage 2

Section

sustainability / stage 2

Section

wall detail / stage 2

Axonometric Drawing

structure / stage 2

Perspective

post competition document

Section

longitudinal through the galleries / stage 2

Section

longitudinal through the artery / stage 2

Section

tunnel / stage 2

Section

artery / stage 2

Section

great hall / stage 2

Schema

longitudinal section in perspective towards the church / stage 2

Schema

relation with the context - section / stage 2

Perspective

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Perspective

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Perspective

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Perspective

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Perspective

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Perspective

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Perspective

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Perspective

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Perspective

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Plan

and terrace model / stage 2

Perspective

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Perspective

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Perspective

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Perspective

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Perspective

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Perspective

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Perspective

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Perspective

main entrance / stage 2

Photograph of Model

facade / stage 2

Perspective

from the artery towards the jail / stage 2

Perspective

Inuit gallery and permanent gallery / stage 2

Perspective

the temporary exhibition allows for a maximum of flexibility / stage 2

Perspective

artery and signaletic zones / stage 2

Perspective

great hall / stage 2

Perspective

entrance on Grande-Allee / stage 2

Perspective

main facade / stage 2

Photograph of Model

great hall / stage 2

Perspective

the park extends towards the city / stage 2

Photograph of Model

respect for the cloister / stage 2

Photograph of Model

clarifying the museal complex / stage 2

Photograph of Model

galleries separate arteries / stage 2

Presentation Panel

no.4 / stage 2

Presentation Panel

no.3 / stage 2

Presentation Panel

no.2 / stage 2

Presentation Panel

no.1 / stage 2

Photograph of Model

superimposed galleries / stage 2

Photograph of Model

cascadating galleries / stage 2

Schema

activity artery / stage 2

Schema

program distribution / stage 2

Axonometric Drawing

program and traffic / stage 2

Schema

comparaison of the programmatic distribution between the museum wards / stage 2

Schema

artery and connector / stage 2

Schema

strategy to fight museum fatigue / stage 2

Plan

implantation / stage 2

Plan

basement level 2 - auditorium and mechanic rooms / stage 2

Plan

basement level 1 - auditorium, lobby, shop, tunnel, collections ares, CPOA / stage 2

Plan

ground floor - great hall and temporary exhibition / stage 2

Plan

mezzanine N1-m - security, infirmry and multi-functionnal room / stage 2

Plan

level 2 - permanent exhibition / stage 2

Plan

level 3 - inuit art and design space / stage 2

GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE COMPETITOR

Competitor	Provencher Roy + associés, architectes
	provencherroy.ca/

	OMA
	www.oma.eu/home

Team	Jason Long
	Rem Koolhaas
	Shohei Shigematsu

Distinction	Winner
Doc. level	75%

Description

The complex context of the Museum's environment was the central design concern in the first stage: how to extend the Park by inviting the city? How to respect and preserve the church while creating a significant presence on Grande Allée? How to clarify the organization of the Museum while increasing its size and complexity? The solution was to superimpose the areas of the temporary (50 meters by 50 meters), permanent (45 meters by 35 meters), Inuit and Design (42.5 meters by 25 meters) galleries to create a cascade of exhibition typologies of different scales that flow from the park into the city. The goal was to weave together the park, the city and the museum.

Camped at the meeting point of Quebec City and the Battlefields Park, the MNBAQ is witness to their parallel lives, punctuated by rare eruptions of interaction despite their constant contact. We propose to weave together the city, the park and the museum; the expansion is an extension of all three at once. Emerging from a negotiation among donors, and avoiding the imposition of an arbitrary icon, it respects the existing buildings and the church while creating a dramatic presence for the museum on Grande Allée. The museum's identity and organization are given a new clarity.

The stacking of the required gallery areas - contemporary, permanent, design and Inuit - creates a cascade of typologies and scales of exhibitions that descend to the Battlefields. As a nod to the surrounding hills, the galleries open up to the park in a tumble that leaves the museum open to the city.

The resulting form creates an unexpected relationship between the museum and its context. The park unfolds through it thanks to skylights and judiciously placed openings. In turn, the MNBAQ extends generously across the park through the outdoor galleries and terraces.

Supporting the galleries and embracing the Grande Allée from the top of its 14 meters, the great hall invites visitors. A true urban living room, the Great Hall is at the heart of the museum's life. It serves as an interface to the Grande Allée and as an urban square for the museum's many public functions. Because of its importance, this space can host large-scale public events. With views of the thoroughfares and the permanent and temporary galleries, it immediately orients visitors not only to the museum but also to the site. It features a series of portals to the galleries, the cloister courtyard, and the auditorium. Its grand staircase leads seamlessly to the underground passage to the existing pavilions.

The clarity of the circulation and museography is intrinsic to the form of the building. Along Wolfe-Montcalm Avenue, a series of programs-foyers, lounges, boutiques, walkways and gardens-intertwine to offer multiple trajectories. In contrast to the introspective calm of the galleries, this trajectory is a mix of art, activities and public promenades. Along this route, orchestrated views reconnect the visitor to the park and the rest of the complex. Inside, mezzanines and balconies overlook the temporary and permanent galleries. Additional exhibition spaces are strung together in the underground tunnel. This series of spaces with different shapes and atmospheres, leads the visitor, as if by chance, to the rest of the complex.

In addition to a public elevator in the Great Hall, two staircases connect the different floors of the museum vertically. The first, along the south façade, is a large artery that provides a clear route along the building. It is animated by signage areas, kiosks, terraces, and exterior views: it serves as the main public trajectory. The second, "the connector," is inherent to the gallery route, allowing a continuous circuit through the exhibitions. These two systems complement each other, satisfying different functions while reconnecting at certain entry points.

Directing visitors coming from the passageway or the museum store, the "artery" that revolves around the grand staircase, unfolds from the auditorium foyer and lands in the Great Hall and the temporary exhibition signage area. There, it widens to invite visitors to take full advantage of the height of the atrium. The 18-meter high atrium is one of the most remarkable spaces in the complex. Echoing other spaces in the museum: the prison atrium, the hall of the central pavilion, the staircase of the Morisset Pavilion, it is at the center of the new pavilion. Flooded with natural light from the translucent façade, this atrium visually connects all the functions of the museum.

On the first level, the staircase protrudes into the temporary gallery, giving visitors a glimpse into the exhibition. Then, on the second level, the artery, which leads to the signage area of the permanent galleries, allows visitors, from a glass balcony, to enjoy wide views of the park and the Morisset Pavilion. Finally, continuing its ascent, the artery leads to the third floor, culminating in an exterior loggia, the highest point of the architectural promenade, allowing visitors to access the roof terrace.

Far from being secondary, the "connector" staircase allows, unlike the artery, a continuous circuit through the different galleries: it is an integral part of a coherent and linear path punctuated by views towards the park, the cloister, the Great Hall and access to the terraces and the auditorium. Receiving visitors at the end of the temporary galleries, this staircase leads them to the modern and contemporary art galleries, offering them a view of the Great Hall and the cloister. At the end of the second floor circuit, it leads to the Inuit gallery and its terrace. In the basement, this "connector" leads to the auditorium while bypassing the Great Hall.

The atmosphere of the galleries, conducive to contemplation, distinguishes them from the rest of the museum. Their linear organization, the choice of materials and the presence of natural light combine to combat museum fatigue. Contrary to conventional museum layouts, the cascading arrangement of the floors maximizes the amount of skylights and brings natural light into each of the galleries.

Furthermore, it is also the interpenetration of the circulation and the galleries that helps define the character of the rooms, always placing the visitor in contact with the trajectory they have just completed, and the one they are about to undertake.

The galleries are designed on a 5-meter structural grid that not only allows great flexibility in the organization of the partition of the temporary gallery, but will also facilitate any possible reorganization of the permanent galleries. The permanent galleries, which leave the lower chords of the wooden framework beams visible in the ceiling, take advantage of light diffusers to create a homogeneous illumination while concealing the various technical devices.

Subtle architectural details, the illuminated ceilings and the wood frame define the background and thus leave, with refinement, all the room for museology to tell the story of the art of Quebec. Echoing the ceilings, the floors are finished in wood, creating a serene atmosphere conducive to the experience of art.

Traditionally, museums are "fortresses" of art that isolate the visitor from the outside world and the passage of time. Instead of considering the museum as an opaque box that is then punctually pierced with openings, we created a translucent museum whose interior is, when necessary, sheltered from light: our basic assumption is openness rather than isolation.

The envelope of the new MNBAQ is made of a glass skin erected with self-supporting glass profiles. Quebec's severe winters are a challenge for any glass building. Designed with the collaboration of Provencher Roy Associés architectes and their LEED specialist to adapt to local conditions, the proposed façade system uses technologically advanced materials to combine the seemingly contradictory needs of a translucent façade and adequate thermal performance. To accommodate the different needs of the museum's galleries and public areas, three distinct conditions are deployed through this system: profiled glass incorporating insulating and light-diffusing panels, profiled glass covering a super-insulated wall, and transparent windows.

In collaboration with Buro Happold engineers, we designed a building that addresses sustainability through its energy sources (a hybrid power plant taking advantage of the geothermal water potential in the park), its materials (glulam and steel beams using local resources) and the incorporation of landscape and water conservation strategies (rainwater harvesting, and green roofs on the building's multiple terraces). Our primary goal is a reduction in the museum's carbon footprint, and to reduce carbon neutral energy use by 55% compared to an average museum.

(From competitor's text)

(Unofficial automated translation)

Jury Report

STAGE 1

-The concept, by integrating all the data of the site in its solution, is declared right and relevant.
-The gradation of the volume proposes a strong idea of integration with the museum and the city and shows an understanding of scale.
-The presentation, very scenographic, suggests the hall, a place of animation, supported by the volumetry; the architectural reading is clear. The definition of the urban space of the forecourt and the lobby appears vague and open to interpretation.
-The concept has the intelligence to be part of the continuity of the history of architecture that represents the MNBAQ museum complex, while answering the questions posed; it proposes a link with the Museum in a spatial sequence integrated into the complex.
-The relationship to the presbytery is questionable and differs from the 3-D model plan.
-The vertical circulation proposes a mode that is more commercial than museal, as the mobile stairs are not adapted to the function.
-While the project takes the Museum out of its enclosure and opens it to the city, its architecture participates in the evolution of the city's image.

STAGE 2

The jury appreciates the team's depth and ability to execute; the concept, with its most effective simplicity, responds to the duality of the city/park site.

The access and circulation offer a rich experience of discovery, with visual breakthroughs to the exterior and interior.

The exhibition rooms are flexible and functional; their neutrality facilitates their arrangement, as does the structural framework.

The great hall, designed as a dynamic urban space, is most spectacular by day and night.

The concept presents a flexible and adaptable solution to the museum's expectations, without altering its evocative force.

The jury questions the transparency and translucency of the envelope and its energy performance.

The jury mentions the positive evolution of the project since stage 1, which demonstrates a capacity to listen.

The tunnel becomes a strong point of the project, it is the generator of the concept.

The wooden structure, although interesting, seems too dominant, mainly for the exhibition rooms.

In conclusion, this project is the most specific to the site, which makes it unique and distinctive. It best meets the following four (4) expectations:

-a project that will dialogue with its time and environment;
-a complete project;
-a good use of wood;
-an openness and a dialogue between the architect and the client.

FINAL SELECTION

After deliberations concentrated on two (2) projects, the jury unanimously chose the team and project of OMA / Provencher Roy, architects, for the following reasons:

-OMA was able to reinvent the museum experience, specific to the MNBAQ.
-OMA was able to evolve its concept in response to the jury's comments. The intelligence and relevance of the concept in its relationship to the city and the park were unanimously accepted by the jury.
-The three-dimensional wooden structure of the slabs offers great flexibility in design, with a minimum of columns.
-The neutrality of the form showcases the internal life of the museum.
-The concept effectively combines the formal and the functional while respecting the urban context.
-This project represents a new milestone for museum architecture.
-Both intriguing and inviting, the architecture is in tune with the museum's function.
-This project represents the element that will distinguish the MNBAQ in the 21st century, because as expected, it is in dialogue with its time.
-The concept, by developing the fifth dimension, the roof, is part of a new modernity environmentally responsible.

(From jury report)

(Unofficial automated translation)

List of accessible documents

120 scanned / 107 viewable

IMPORTANT NOTICE : Unless otherwise indicated, photographs of buildings and projects are from professional or institutional archives. All reproduction is prohibited unless authorized by the architects, designers, office managers, consortiums or archives centers concerned. The researchers of the Canada Research Chair in Architecture, Competitions and Mediations of Excellence are not held responsible for any omissions or inaccuracies, but appreciate all comments and pertinent information that will permit necessary modifications during future updates.
info@ccc.umontreal.ca

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