MNAC 2421

The aim of the project is to expand the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) by reconverting the Victoria Eugenia Palace, while at the same time strengthening the connection of the museum with the city and with other neighbouring cultural institutions. This intervention is part of a broader initiative for the requalification of the Montjuïc area, coinciding with the centenary of the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition.

Recognising the pre-existence: Typologically, the building is characterised by a systematic structure and its roofs with pyramidal skylights. A free plan in a bidirectional grid with a span of almost 12 m, suitable for exhibition uses.

Taking advantage of the exceptions: The exceptions that break the clarity of this system are the flat roof (which borders the public façade) and the level differences between exhibition platforms. We propose preserving the grid intact for exhibition uses and articulating the project by taking advantage of these exceptions

Under the skyline: We place the exhibition spaces within the grid and beneath the skylights. The new slabs homogenise the level differences into two large exhibition planes.

Under the exhibition: Between the new exhibition levels and the existing level differences, spaces of opportunity appear that will accommodate public, logistical and technical programmes, as well as spaces for building services.

Under the flat roofs: We place the hall in the exception of the system, bordering the most public façades and under the roofs that are already altered or have no heritage value. Here we can intervene and allow light and ventilation to enter. A slit that connects city and museum.

Refilling with natural light: refill with glass blocks (pavés) the reticular coffers of the original skylights that remain above the hall. A solution that respects the structure and geometry of the skylights and that at the same time allows the construction of new reticular slabs that are translucent and walkable in the flat-roof areas.

The museum passage: Light, length, sinuosity and the direct relationship with public space give the museum hall the character of a passage. A space that can be understood either as an interior of the museum or as an exterior that forms part of the city. Its proportions and natural conditions recall a covered street, a transitional space..

Maximum connectivity: Moving the circulation axis to the perimeter allows access at all levels of the public space and activates the museum from several entrances. The long passage also allows access to all levels of the programme.

At the edge but also in the middle: The position of the hall along the edge of the building allows the visual relationship and the link with the axis of the fountains to be maintained. Between the public space and the internal programme, the passage is a transitional space that activates both the museum and the city.

Urban character: The most public programmes (auditorium, restaurant, bar and shop) are placed adjoining and open to the passage, introducing life into the museum.

The museum as a route: The passage and its relationship with the exhibition rooms and complementary spaces (bar, shop, restaurant…) turn the museum into an itinerary. A route that naturally links the different programmes and the topography, connecting the two palaces (Nacional and Victoria Eugenia) through a varied yet unified itinerary.

Passage to the palace: The public section of the underground connection follows the same spatial condition as the first stretch of the passage: generous spaces, occasional views to the exterior, natural light and large staircases combined with escalators and lifts. The accessible exterior connection is resolved in parallel with the interior (underground) connection.

The sculpture courtyard: Located halfway along and at the terrace level, it resolves the large topographic change with a lift and allows a new entrance and the connection between the two circulation routes.

Pedestal courtyard: An opening in the plinth of the National Palace that, looking towards the existing planters, allows us to understand that we are already arriving and creates a final resting space where one can contemplate art and enjoy natural light.

The arrival atrium: We propose covering and consolidating the lateral courtyard of the hall of the National Palace and transforming it into a large atrium that provides access to the exhibition rooms. The new atrium is the end of the passage. A final transition that resolves accessibility between the different levels of the existing hall. A space that recovers the large scale and the zenithal light, and that occupies a strategic and symbolic position from which any point of the museum can be accessed.

New centrality: Plaça Carles Buïgas will become the new centre of gravity of the whole complex and the entrance to two major facilities (MNAC and the new Congress Palace). A square that brings Montjuïc closer to the city.

New door – New institution: The new entrance to the museum is a long horizontal cut in the concrete plinth, where heritage intervention is permitted. A neutral and abstract slit that allows the square to enter the building and invites people to enter naturally. The new door takes the scale of Plaça Carles Buïgas, of the monumental complex and of the institution.