Best Public-Use Project with Public Funding

Winner: Stanton Williams, UK
Musée d’arts de Nantes, Nantes, France

Judges’ Comments

‘Stanton Williams has executed a brilliant insertion of a frame in the Muse´ed’arts de Nantes project, and the structure complements the adjacent neoclassical buildings.’ David Adjaye

‘An elegant and sophisticated meeting of old and new that has character and integrity. The building works at an urban/ city scale as well as at an architectural scale. The execution of the interiors - materials, details, light - is exquisite.’ Kate Goodwin

The transformation and extension of one of the largest ne arts museums in France outside Paris has improved the institution’s connection with the city and introduced 4,000 sq m of new exhibition space. The extensions are designed to complement the 19th-century Palais and a 17th-century chapel, with the massing and materiality of the new additions referencing these historic structures.

‘The new museum has been conceived around the existing collections,’ says Stanton Williams’ director Patrick Richard, ‘creating an intimate dialogue between art and architecture that firmly embeds the museum within the distinctive historical setting of the city.’

The main extension, known as the Cube, houses four levels of galleries that are connected to each other by a series of broad landings, with large windows aiding navigation and allowing artworks to be seen from the street outside. The structure features a facade made from translucent laminated marble that lets light enter through its lightly veined surface.

Inside the renovated spaces, a consistent material palette ensures the museum feels like a single volume, with individual spaces carved into its mass. The new exhibition halls are supplemented by an auditorium, library, educational facilities, archive and sculpture court. The holistic project involved redefining the landscaping to improve access routes from the street, and the architects also collaborated with design studio CartlidgeLevene to redevelop the museum’s visual identity.

Highly Commended

Zaha Hadid Architects, UK
Salerno Maritime Terminal, Salerno, Italy

Commended

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, USA (with SO-IL)
Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Davis, University of California, USA

Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, China
New Shanghai Theatre, Shanghai, China

Vector Architects, China
Suzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum, Suzhou, China

Finalists

Baynes and Mitchell Architects, UK
Command of the Oceans: The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Chatham, UK

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, USA (with SO-IL)
Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Davis, University of California, USA

Casson Mann, UK and Snøhetta, Denmark
Lascaux International Centre for Cave Art exhibition design, Montignac, France

Chapman BDSP, UK
The Design Museum lighting design, London, UK

EAA – EmreArolat Architecture, Turkey
BerKM – Bergama Cultural Center, Bergama, Turkey

Glenn Howells Architects, UK
Remembrance Centre, The National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire, UK

Marks Barfield Architects, UK
British Airways i360, Brighton, UK

Neri&Hu Design and Research Office, China
New Shanghai Theatre, Shanghai, China

Penoyre & Prasad, UK
Sibson Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

Sibson Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
Ogden Centre for Fundamental Physics, Durham University, Durham, UK

Stanton Williams, UK
Musée d’arts de Nantes, Nantes, France

Vector Architects, China
Suzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum, Suzhou, China

Zaha Hadid Architects, UK
Salerno Maritime Terminal, Salerno, Italy

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