The Musée d’art contemporain in Montreal is to be completely redesigned in a two-year project that will see it temporarily relocate while the work is ongoing.
The current location of the Musée d’art contemporain (MAC) will close in January 2019 to allow work to commence. The temporary location will open in the spring. A joint bid between Saucier and Perrotte Architects and GLCRM Architects won the design competition for the renovation project.
The project has a budget of C$44m ($35m) of which $7m ($5.5m) is expected to come from a fundraising campaign.
The MAC has seen steady increases in attendance over the past five years, however its current facility has various issues, including a lack of space to display the museum’s collection. The renovation will nearly double the amount of space available, including three new exhibition rooms.
The project will redesign every space in the facility, including lobbies and circulation areas, to showcase artworks. It will expand and add new educational spaces as well as optimise the current multimedia room.
The exterior façade will also undergo a transformation with an expansion to the main entrance and an area added to the second floor.
There will also be new spaces for the bookstore, coffee shop and restaurant, including an outdoor terrace on the second floor.
The timetable for the work will see the current facility close in January 2019 and the temporary facility open in the spring. Construction will start in the summer with the renovated facility reopening towards the end of 2021.
John Zeppetelli, director and chief curator of the MAC, said: “Thanks to the MAC’s efforts to boost its offering and revitalise its presence, we now feel a major, renewed interest for contemporary art.
“With this transformation, we will be able to offer a place worthy of public expectations. Montreal will finally have a jewel that lives up to its ambitions, its reputation and its artistic importance.”
Images: c. Saucier and Perrotte Architects and GLCRM Architects.
