MNAC Barcelona | Christ & Gantenbein

The National Art Museum of Catalunya (MNAC) is currently housed in the Palau Nacional on Montjuïc Hill. As one of the most visited museums in Barcelona, the institution now requires additional exhibition space and improved connectivity to the city and its neighboring cultural institutions. This project is part of a larger initiative to requalify the area, marking the centenary of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. The international competition’s brief aimed to extend the museum into one of the historical fair halls, the Palau Victoria Eugenia, a prime example of early concrete architecture in Barcelona, and a protected landmark.

Christ & Gantenbein in collaboration with the local firm Harquitectes unanimously won the competition with a proposal which is respectful and radical at the same time. The project reveals the untapped potential of the Victoria Eugenia Pavilion by activating the building’s periphery to establish a new circulation path leading to the Palau Nacional. Additionally, it introduces a spacious new entrance to the entire complex on Plaça Carles Buïgas, creating a new urban focal point. Most importantly, the approach aims at a sustainable intervention, minimizing excavation and interventions into the existing structure.

The expanded MNAC will offer a fresh museological perspective, reinforcing its role as a new focal point within the city and its vibrant cultural district. The jury noted that the winning proposal “successfully embodies the values of the museum as a space for welcoming and engaging with the public.” Most notably, it excels in “the way it fosters a connection between the museum and its surroundings, opening the museum up to the city and vice versa.”

HIGH POROSITY BETWEEN MUSEUM AND CITY

The project envisions a seamless new connection between Plaça Carles Buïgas and the Palau Nacional, enhancing the museum’s integration into the city. A new, generous entrance is created through a bold horizontal cut-out at the base of the Palau Victoria Eugenia building, facing the large Carles Buïgas square. This new access point of the whole complex is accentuated by a digital frieze, facilitating a dynamic dialogue between the square and the museum. The generous opening is the start of new circulation path layered through the topography and leading to the current museum building.

This path sinuates along the periphery of the building and resembles a passage, a transitional space with a highly urban character that can be understood both as part of the museum’s interior or as an exterior element that belongs to the city. This strategy allows the public areas of the museum to actively interact with the surroundings, creating different points of attention along the path: the entrance and welcoming area with a café and an auditorium on the Carles Buïgas square and a shop and some public areas on Puig i Cadafalch square. The indoor passage is complemented by the addition of a new public pathway across the roofs, paved with glass bricks to allow natural light to filter into the spaces below. By offering breathtaking views and being visible from afar, this additional feature further enhances the connection between the building and the city.

RESPECTFUL INTERVENTION

The proposal respects the qualities of the existing fair building, intervening only where heritage conditions permit, while celebrating the original architectural typology.

Moving the circulation axis to the perimeter allows access to all levels of public space and interior levels, maximizing the open-plan exhibition space under the protected skylights. The exhibition halls take advantage of and homogenize the existing slopes to introduce public, logistical and technical programs, minimizing the impact on the terrain. The Palau is composed of two large halls that are under strict monument protection. The large exhibition surfaces can be divided into temporary and permanent exhibition space depending on the museum’s current needs and is therefore able to adapt to future ones, while the configuration and versatility of the spaces will allow it to maximize the visitor experience.

All new architectural interventions are constructed using recycled concrete, paying homage to the fair hall being one of Barcelona’s first concrete buildings, designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch and finished one year before the international exhibition. This choice for the unity of material fosters a respectful and subtle dialogue between the old and the new.

By cleverly utilizing the existing topography for the underground path and implementing efficient logistical solutions for moving art between storage spaces, the design significantly reduces the impact of excavation. Additionally, low-tech ventilation strategies take advantage of the 42-meter elevation difference with the Palau Nacional, creating natural convective air movement.

According to the jury, the proposal “acknowledges the significance of the Victoria Eugenia Palace, highlighting its volumetric, spatial, and heritage qualities, while skillfully adapting the building to meet the museum’s evolving needs”.