The team comprised of David Kohn Architects, noA Architecten, and Asli Çiçek has won the international competition for the redesign of SMAK, the Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art in Ghent, Belgium. The project includes the reconfiguration of the museum grounds and the extension of a cluster of historic buildings in the center of the city. Established in 1999, the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst aims to redefine its relationship with the city and to create more appropriate space for the design of its extensive contemporary art collection.
The proposal transforms the Floraliënhal, a large-scale glass and steel structure built for the 1913 World Fair, into the main entrance of the museum, reimagining the formerly unused structure into a memorable space for museum-goers. In addition to this, two adjacent existing buildings on site are repurposed to accommodate display spaces. The concrete and brick structures thus become inspiration sources for the materiality of the new extensions.
The buildings will undergo a refurbishment process to insulate their facades and reimagine their appearance in a more varied and playful character. Existing elements such as decorative blue stone elements and a series of bas-reliefs are salvaged in this process, to be reused throughout the museum
Related Article
Finnish Museum of History and Future Selects Sigge Architects' Design as Competition WinnerThe project is ambitious in its approach to experiencing art within a park setting and addressing the climate crisis through circular construction. This is our first major international museum project and we are looking forward to working with the SMAK team to realize all of its potential. - David Kohn, director at David Kohn Architects
The museum's setting is also taken into account in the proposal. Located in the Citadelpark, Ghent's largest park, the museum announces its presence by renovating the 1856 Citadel Gate, a folly structure that has fallen in disrepair, and by introducing a new belvedere tower to mark the entrance to the museum complex. The newly revitalized pedestrian route further strengthens the museum's relationship with the mark and surrounding landscape. With the transformation of the Floraliënhal structure, the institution extends with a lively and democratic space for people to enjoy art and contribute to the city's public life.
With our proposal we want to contribute to the fundamental debate on the impact of the building industry on environmental, social, economic and historical sustainability. Instead of replacing the existing museum building with new constructions – as asked in the brief - we propose to work with what is already there. CO2 emissions, the creation of waste and the ongoing extraction of raw materials in times of scarcity, are just some of the themes that concern architecture and the arts together. That the art museum is the place par excellence to debate these topics, makes the museum building complicit. Let's fundamentally trust in what is already there and build upon and beyond what we know. - An Fonteyne, one of the founding partners of noAarchitecten
On a similar note, the Museum of History and the Future has announced Sigge Architects as the winners of the competition for the design of its new location in Finland's oldest city, Turku. Similarly, Henning Larsen has recently been announced as the winner of an international competition for designing a New Arts Center in Bergen, Norway. Tackling one of the most famous museum buildings in the world, Moreau Kusunoki and Frida Escobedo Studio have been selected for the extensive renovation of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France.
