The process has been long and complicated, but the expansion of the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) is starting to become a reality. The UTE formed by the Sabadell-based architecture studio H Arquitectes and the Swiss Christ & Gantenbein has been the winner of the competition called to draft the preliminary project that will define the reform of the cultural complex. The project competed with those of Barozzi Veiga, b720 Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos, Tuñón Arquitectos, and the British Caruso St. John Architects.
A jury of 21 experts has positively valued how the proposal Galeria resolves the relationship of the new MACBA building with the city, the neighborhood, and the museum, according to the head of architecture, Isabel Bachs. Around 3,000 square meters will be gained, which will allow accommodating the museum's continuously growing collection, which already reaches 6,000 pieces.
After MACBA could not expand into the Capella de la Misericòrdia, which will become a health center, it was decided that the museum would be expanded with a new building in front of the Convent dels Àngels. The solution devised by H Arquitectes and Christ & Gantenbein redefines the relationship between Plaça dels Àngels, the Meier building, and the Convent dels Àngels, respecting the project developed in the 80s. The complex will be connected underground by the current parking lot, with a tunnel that the winning team wants to be musealized. Likewise, the space of the convent church will be transformed into the new main access to the museum and a free access space for all citizens.
Plaça dels Àngels will have a new facade, with a gallery that can be walked through and will allow viewing the interior, the most characteristic element of the winning proposal. The connection of the new building with the Meier will not only be underground, but it will also integrate white into the buttresses of this urban gallery. Also noteworthy is the appearance of an upper terrace in the new building, where all kinds of activities can be organized.
After rehabilitating Cristalleries Planell and Lleialtat Santsenca
The H Arquitectes studio was founded in 2000 in Sabadell and is directed by architects David Lorente, Josep Ricart, Xavier Ros and Roger Tudó, all of them licensed as architects at the ETSA del Vallès. Their contribution to Barcelona includes the rehabilitation of the civic centers of Cristalleries Planell and Lleialtat Santsenca. They have also contributed to the renovation of the ICTA-ICP Research Center on the UAB Bellaterra Campus and the Clos-Pachem winery in Gratallops. Currently, they are working on a proposal for the recovery of the Arnau theater and on the project for the old Bòbila de la Teixonera, also in Barcelona.
For its part, the Christ & Gantenbein studio was founded in 1998 by Emmanuel Christ and Christoph Gantenbein. Based in the Swiss city of Basel, they have worked on the expansion and transformation of the Swiss National Museum in Zurich and the expansion of the Kuntsmuseum in Basel, among others.
Cost and deadlines
The project will involve a total investment of 11 million euros. The cost of the winning work is 5.4 million and the fees for the direction of the work and the acquisition of parking spaces that will allow the connection of the buildings must be added. The budget will be covered equally by the different administrations present in MACBA and its foundation will contribute 1.5 million euros.
Now, the winners of the competition will have to draft the basic and executive project, and technical assistance for the direction of the MACBA work. They are expected to be completed by the end of the year and the works can be tendered early next year.
The works will be awarded around June 2022 and will begin in the next 18 months. The forecast is to see the new building finished by the end of 2023.