Galería, a project for the expansion
The Galería project, by UTE Harquitectes and Christ & Gantenbein, was chosen to bring this expasion of the museum into being. As the jury emphasized, the proposal neatly resolves a three-tier dialogue: with the neighbourhood, with the city and with the museum itself.
Galería redefines the relationship between the Meier Building, the square and the Convent dels Àngels. And it does so based on a thorough understanding of the city’s urban development, also adapting itself to the project developed by the architects Clotet and Tusquets for the Raval district in the 1980s, which assimilated the courtyard and cloister structure of the old convents characteristic of the neighbourhood.
«Instead of an add-on,” say Harquitectes and Christ & Gantenbein, “the expansion represents growth of that which already exists. A revised extension, based on the logic of the original grouping. […] The new MACBA is an urban campus, a transformable cultural infrastructure».
On 14 April 2021, the General Council of the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona announced the decision of the independent jury of experts, approved by a sizeable majority, to resolve the public competition for the expansion of MACBA. The winning proposal was the one titled Galería, submitted by UTE, composed of the architecture studio Harquitectes and the Swiss team Christ & Gantenbein. This expansion proposal projects an inclusive and navigable museum, which contemplates the interconnection between its buildings – the Meier Building, Capella, Convent dels Àngels and a new gallery – and the open spaces of the Plaça dels Àngels and the Plaça de les Caramelles.
With the addition of 2,150 m2, the project not only resolves current space constraints, it also maximises and integrates existing buildings, substantially increasing the net usable area. Additionally, the expansion provides 1,347 m2 of freely accessible interior and exterior public space. The projected building applies maximum energy efficiency criteria, utilising a climate system that naturally regulates energy consumption and generates minimum environmental impact.
If you would like to find out more about the process, you can see the initial proposal from the UTE Harquitectes studio and Christ & Gantenbein here. This preliminary study may undergo changes in later stages of project development.