Barcelona-based architects Estudio Barozzi Veiga have unanimously been selected as the winners in a competition to design a new Museum of Fine Arts in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland. More images, a video and information after the break.
In May, the jury reviewed 18 projects submitted by the candidates selected through the selection of projects for the competition and contest of ideas. After the procedure, the jury unanimously appointed the project “BLUE”, of architects Fabrizio Barozzi and Alberto Veiga.
The jury particularly appreciated the bold clarity of the project, choosing to replace the existing building, creating the possibility of developing a new cultural quarter for the city. The dramatic lobby – brick like all public spaces and the building envelope – includes the apse projecting the current central nave of the historic hall of the locomotives; one of the aisles is also preserved by its integration into the façade.
The clarity of the project convinced the jury that this proposal was unique in its ability to create a new building for the MCBA, and secondly to highlight the entire parcel as a center museum as it also offers a new public space in the city.
The jury made its recommendations to the Council of State – the State of Vaud is the master of the work – and members of the Steering Committee of the project, which consists of representatives of the Municipality of Lausanne, SBB, and the state.
The State Council has noted with great interest the winning project and recommendations of the jury. It notes in particular the proposed volume and purity of its exceptional integration into the site. The design responds with intelligence and strength to the challenges of building a museum center on a brownfield in the heart of the city. The winning project meets both the technical requirements of a museum of the twenty-first century (climate stability, protection works, safety) and environmental standards as the most energy demanding (P Minergie ECO).
With the urban qualities of the project, the State Council is particularly pleased to give to Lausanne and Vaud a perspective that were hidden for a century. They will find a haven of culture and greenery arranged in large areas, close to the station and its many commuters.
