OMA has been announced as the winner of the international competition for the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ) expansion. The CAD$90 million project was also consulted with local residents, with an 82% of approval.

A series of stacked boxes remind the programatic relations of Seattle’s Library, while generating an interesting grand hall facing the street with urban qualities.

The three stacked galleries vary in size, as you can see on the axo and models included below: contemporary exhibitions (50m x 50m), the permanent contemporary collection (45m x 35m) and design / Inuit exhibits (42.5m x 25m). The cantilever over the street creates the grand hall, a 14m tall transparent space connected to the park, starting point of an ascending path trough the boxes.

“Our ambition is to create a dramatic new presence for the city, while maintaining a respectful, even stealthy approach to the museum’s neighbors and the existing museum. The resulting form of cascading gallery boxes enhances the museum experience by creating a clarity in circulation and curation while allowing abundant natural light into the galleries.”

- Shohei Shigematsu

The other four finalists of the competition were Barkow Leibinger (Germany) + Imrey Culbert (US), Allied Works (US) + Fichten Soiferman et Associés (Canada), Nieto Sobejano (Spain) + Brière, Gilbert et Associés (Canada) and David Chipperfield (UK) + Groupe Arcop (Canada).

The project is led by partners Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu (who we interviewed before), and will be executed by OMA NY in collaboration with Provencher Roy + Associés Architectes. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2013.

More images after the break:

A tilt-shift video documenting a day around Zaha Hadid’s CMA CGM Tower in Marseilles, France. The project is expected to be completed during the second half of 2010.

Jean Nouvel‘s 100 11th Ave in NY is almost complete. Vernissage TV brings us a video preview of the building, featuring the mosaic like facade and the interiors:

Last year Frank Gehry won the design competition for the Eisenhower Memorial, which included six other firms (Perkins & Will, Krueck & Sexton, Rogers Marvel Architects, Moshe Safdie & Associates, Natoma Architects and PWP Landscape Architecture). After that, the firm was asked to produce three options for the members of the Eisenhower Memorial Commision to choose from, from which the final design was chosen a few days ago.

LA Time’s Culture Monster has more info about the project:

The design, which Gehry and his colleagues will flesh out in the months to come, combines a grove of oak trees, two parallel colonnades of limestone pillars and loosely piled limestone walls carved with sculptural reliefs — elements common to all three proposals — with a series of woven steel-mesh tapestries that will feature images of Eisenhower and his presidency. There is a gap in the colonnade as it runs along Independence, creating an opening framing views of the Capitol and also marking an informal pedestrian entry into the memorial site.

While the oak trees should provide plenty of shade — along with pockets of contemplative space — the tapestries will give much of the memorial the feeling of an expansive outdoor stage set. Gehry came up with the idea for the steel-mesh panels while exploring the tapestry collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where his firm has been working on an expansion.

More images after the break:

Philip Johnson (1906-2005), one of the most influential American architects portrayed by David LaChapelle.

Today, the Pritzker Prize laureate has been announced: Japanese practice SANAA formed by Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa.

Architects: Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA Client: Zollverein School Location: Essen, Germany Construction start: March 2005 Completed: July 2006 Project architect: Nicole Berganski Associate architects: Böll & Krabel Built area: 5.000sqm Masterplan: Rem Koolhaas, OMA Landscape: Agence Ter Photos: Iwan Baan

Location: Toledo, Ohio, USA Client: Toledo Museum of Art Architect: Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA Team: Toshi Oki, Takayuki Hasegawa, Keiko Uchiyama, Mizuki Imamura, Tetsuo Kondo, Junya Ishigami Built area: 7,000sqm Site area: 20,000sqm Opening: 2006 Structure: Guy Nordenson & Associates / SAPS Glass consultant: Front Inc Lighting: Arup / Kilt Planning Photos: Iwan Baan

The Pritzker will be announced in a few minutes. It will probably go to one of the figures you have already voted for in our 2010 Pritzker poll, but deep in our hearts we wish Architecture for Humanity to be awarded.

Will you guys guess the Pritzker once again?

Leonardo Finotti is a brazilian architect and photographer. He has documented several works from Brazil, Portugal and Latin America that we have featured here at ArchDaily.

Leonardo Finotti also maintains a blog with a new photo every day, and keeps an interesting photo archive with over 200 works by Brazilian modern master Oscar Niemeyer. Other sections include projects from Switzerland, Alvaro Siza, Mendes da Rocha… and many more.

1. When and how did you start photographing architecture?

I started studying architecture and photography at the same time. When I finished my studies I decided to go to Europe by being accepted by Fabrica for a trial experience in Treviso/ Italy, that didn’t work out, then I went to Portugal where I had the chance of meeting João Nunes and Carlos Ribas from Proap which was representing Portugal at the Venice Bienale of Architecture back there. They gave me the opportunity on shooting Tejo´s park and enjoying the result they asked me to shoot their entire work. From this day on I am full time architectural photographer.

French architect Jean Nouvel has been selected to design this years Serpentine Gallery Pavilion.

Since 2010, the Serpentine Gallery has commissioned world’s most renowned architects to design a temporary structure to host summer events. The list includes Zaha Hadid, Frank Ghery, Rem Koolhaas, Toyo Ito, Daniel Libeskind, Oscar Niemeyer, Alvaro Siza + Souto de Moura, SANAA (previously featured at AD), danish artist Olafur Eliasson, and several collaborations with Cecil Balmond and ARUP.

Nouvel proposes a vivid red metal structure, which trough the reflection of its materials (steel, glass, fabric, polycarbonate) remind of classic british icons, such as the phone box or the London buses, while contrasting with the green of the park. A free standing 12m tall wall marks the presence of the pavilion.

More images after the break.

Curbed SF previosuly reported on the shortlist for the 225,000sqf expansion of the SFMOMA. The unconfirmed shortlist of the 8 practices include David Adjaye, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Steven Holl, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), Snøhetta, and Renzo Piano. The other 2 remained unknown, but they stated that there are no local firms included.

When is was a kid, the futuristic alternative world featured in Tron blew my mind.

Last week I read this tweet by our friend @fedenegro from CASE:

Why do architects always base their marketing strategies based on their peers instead of potential clients? I blame it on studio

Our friends from Abitare recently published their 500 issue!

Iwan Baan has always amazed us with his photos, capturing the essence of several projects around the world. But Iwan has also been exploring with virtual panoramas (I remember some OMA buildings at Domus, included on a CD).

Josep Lluis Mateo / Mateo Arquitectura shared with us their entry for the restricted competition for the Place de la République in Paris, France.

More information after the break: