When Richard Meier’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) opened in Barcelona in 1995, it was as if a giant white cruise ship had docked in a medieval fishing village by the sea—the slick behemoth clad in enameled-steel panels an overwhelming, and for many an unwelcome, presence among the narrow streets and modest stone structures in the Catalan capital’s Raval neighborhood, just across from the historic center’s Gothic Quarter.
Now, an extension to that museum, which takes a decidedly different approach, has been unveiled. Designed by Basel-based Christ & Gantenbein (C&G) together with Barcelona-based H Arquitectes, the 19,000-square foot new brick volume will sit opposite the existing museum, across the Plaza des Angels, with a below-grade link planned. The terraced, open building housing new galleries, shops, and public spaces is a gesture of “urban repair,” according to Emanuel Christ, C&G founding partner along with Christoph Gantenbein. “The Meier building is freestanding and autonomous; it has its qualities, and its shortcomings,” Christ says. “This project tries to compensate for the lack of connections by weaving into the city fabric.” A 15th-century chapel and convent are also part of the scheme, and will be transformed to become the museum’s entrance hall with many public-facing uses.
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