The international architecture competition of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) has entered a new stage with the selection of five finalists from among the 15 architectural firms who were selected and invited to take part in stage 1 of the competition last September.
The goal of the first stage of the competition was to demonstrate the quality and depth of the conception necessitated by the complexity of the project and the task of integrating the new pavilion into the heritage complex made up of the Saint-Dominique Church and the Museum. The idea being sought would include the definition of the distinguishing features of the pavilion’s volumetric and exterior aspects with respect to the surrounding natural and built setting. The concept had to define the parameters of the Museum’s new image.
Every firm selected in September submitted their concept by the date stipulated in the manual and their presentations were deemed in conformance with it. The jury met in Quebec City on November 26 and 27 and closely examined the 15 proposals. Following its deliberations, it selected the following 5 teams, listed here in alphabetical order:
The jury chair is Mr Charles-Mathieu Brunelle, director of Muséums nature de Montréal and the jury’s representative from the cultural community. In addition to Charles-Mathieu Brunelle, the jury is made up of two international architects: Ms Nasrine Seraji, an architect and urban planner with Atelier Seraji Architectes et associés and director of the École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris Malaquais, and Mr Xaveer De Geyter, principal architect of the firm XDGA Architecten in Brussels; a Quebec architect, Mr André Bourassa, architect and president of the Ordre des architectes du Québec; a representative of the academic community, Mr Jacques White, architect, École d’architecture of Université Laval; and two representatives of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec: Ms Esther Trépanier, director of the MNBAQ, and Mr John R. Porter, president of the Museum’s foundation and curator of the expansion project. Mr Peter Murphy, architect with Quebec City’s Direction de l’aménagement du territoire, is the jury’s substitute member.
The goal of the next stage of the competition will be to develop the project’s functional solution while meeting the program and the needs and technical constraints of the site. Development of the concept will also make it possible to demonstrate the “sustainable” aspect of the project. Special attention will have to be paid to ensuring that the architectural ideas can be carried out within the construction budget.
Stage 2 of the competition will begin in late February 2010 with the selection of the winning team from the 5 finalists. The jury’s decision will take effect once it has been ratified by the Museum’s board of directors, likely in late March 2010.
The MNBAQ will launch an exhibition, beginning in September 2010, of the presentations of all 15 firms selected to take part in stage 1 of the competition.
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