Location: Montauban, France.

Architect: W-ARCHITECTURES.

The project aims to give a sense of life to a building that stores and protects artworks that remain invisible. The idea is to create an image of a protective and serene building beyond the world of hard and austere storage buildings. The building is made of glass and concrete panels with a plaster and engraved pattern inspired by Ingres’ drawings. The rhythm given by the alternating concrete and glass elements reflecting plants gives vibration and depth to the facade. The movement towards the main pedestrian entrance of the park culminates in the three gold marks in the northwest corner of the building. At night, the lighting placed in the facade reflects on the park, illuminating the vegetation. To give a sense of movement to the structure, a grassy slope is installed between the boulevard and the building. The building acts as a signal, like a city logo on a large scale, constantly evolving with the seasons and changes in light. The system marks the entrance to the pedestrian access and the main entrance of the future museum.

Photo credit: Cyrille Weiner, Jean-Philippe Meauxonne.