Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners has broken ground on a new conservation and storage facility for the Louvre in Liévin, France. Capable of housing conservation and storage facilities for as many as 250,000 works, the building will is aiming to become of one of the world’s most advanced research and study facilities.
Located a short drive from the SANAA-designed Louvre Lens, the new facility will contain 18,500 square meters (199,000 square feet) of space, including a 1,700-square-meter (18,000-square-foot) conservation treatment area and 9,600 square meters (130,000 square feet) of storage space.
Built into the the natural terrain, the single-story building will grow out from the landscape with a lush green roof framed by two pairs of concrete walls reminiscent of the French military architecture of Vauban. Materials have been chosen based on their “simplicity, resilience, and sobriety.”
“The simple and elegant concrete frame provides a highly efficient structure and stable environmental conditions,” explain the architects.
A wide, barrel-vaulted corridor known as the “boulevard of the artworks” will serve as the main circulatory backbone of the building, where art will pass from the 400-square-meter delivery bay to the dedicated areas for conservation and treatment.
“The work done here has enriched our architectural vocabulary,” said Graham Stirk, senior partner at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and lead designer on the project. “The Louvre-Lens building will blend almost completely into the landscape and marry the sloping form of the terrain. The single storey height of the building will also greatly facilitate the movement of the works.”
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners is collaborating with landscape architects Mutabilis Paysage & Urbanisme, technical consultants Egis Batiment Nord, environmental consultants Inddigo SAS, and project managers VPEAS SAS.
The building is expected to be completed by summer 2019, with works to be gradually transferred to the facility throughout the second half of the year.
RSHP Wins Competition to Build Conservation Facility for Louvre
The Musée du Louvre and the Nord-Pas de Calais region has selected Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) to build a new conservation and storage facility for the Louvre in Liévin, northern France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais). Built primarily for study and research, the 20,000-square-meter "landscape building" will feature a series of vaulted light-filled conservation studios and storage spaces topped with a lush green roof.
