Nearly seven years following the rejection at the ballot box of the expansion and renovation project of the Museum of Art and History (MAH) in Geneva, the executive of the City is going to relaunch an architectural competition. He is applying for a study credit of 19.9 million francs.
Subject to the vote of the City Council, this international competition will be launched in the fall of 2023. The calendar presented to the press on Thursday by the Administrative Council of the City of Geneva sets the start of work at 2028 for an opening of the renovated and enlarged museum. by 2030. The total cost of this project is estimated at between 200 and 250 million francs.
“The request for this study credit is a major step for this major project,” noted Sami Kanaan, head of the Department of Culture. In order to mark the importance of the stake, the magistrate was accompanied by the mayor Marie Barbey-Chpuiss as well as the head of the department of planning and constructions, Frédérique Perler.
“Geneva needs major projects, of which the population can be proud”, underlined the mayor, hoping that “we will not lose sight of the general interest” in the process to come. As a reminder, a first project designed by the architect Jean Nouvel had been attacked by referendum due to the distortion of the interior courtyard of the building and unclear public-private financing.
Elevation excluded
To unite as many people as possible around this new copy, the City of Geneva carried out a vast consultation. “Seven years may seem long, but it was the time needed given the complexity of the issues,” noted Mr. Kanaan. According to the magistrate, the associations for the defense of heritage have adhered to the new orientations.
However, the concrete project remains to be defined and the City is counting on the imagination of the architects to achieve this. However, the Municipality has imposed certain constraints. First of all, raising and filling the courtyard of the main building is excluded.
The project will then have to be deployed within the perimeter of the existing buildings, ie the Museum of Art and History, the building of the former School of Fine Arts, the building on the Promenade du Pin and the Casemates. The extension might also develop under the mound of the Observatory. The reflection will also have to integrate the adjacent boulevard Hevétique and the boulevard Jaques-Dalcroze.
An isolated fortress
Inaugurated in 1910, the MAH is dilapidated and lacks exhibition space. “Only 3% of the collection, which brings together 650,000 objects, is currently on display,” noted Mr. Kanaan. The project should allow an increase of around 4,000 m2 in floor space, including 2,000 m2 devoted to temporary and permanent exhibitions. The total area would increase from 14,500 m2 to 18,500 m2.
It is also planned to integrate the Art and Archeology Library, a documentation and research center and areas for consulting the collection. There will also be places for mediation, an auditorium, stalls and a restaurant.
The stakes of this expansion and this renovation are multiple: it is not only a question of enhancing the collection, but also of correcting the problems of accessibility and more generally of contributing to the influence of Geneva.
“The MAH, which looks like an isolated fortress, must fit into the heart of the city,” said Mr. Kanaan. The magistrate wants the creation of a true museum campus. The ambition goes beyond the strict project of a museum, insofar as the enlarged and restored MAH will constitute a lever to concretize the urban developments in the sector, estimates the City.
Referendum?
After the study phase of the winning project, an application for additional study credit will be submitted to materialize the phases of authorization to build and calls for tenders. The City Council will still have to decide on the development credit. Referendums might slow down the process.
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats
