David Chipperfield

Musée des Beaux-Arts . Reims

David Chipperfield . + baunetz

David Chlpperfield Architects has won the competition to design the new Museedes Beaux-arts in Reims.

The site for the museum of art is on the periphery of a long green space between Reims' old and new town.
The building is composed of three bar-formed volumes with mono-pitched roofs and has a translucent facade, clad with marble and glass ceramic panels. A twelve metre high hall creates a transition space between inside and outside, spanning an existing excavation site with mediaeval findings. The exhibition galleries, which progress chronologically upwards over three floors, display art from the 15th to the 21st century. In addition to the main, flexible exhibition halls, smaller side galleries are devoted to individual artists or collectors.
Daylight Is the main source of exhibition lighting, provided by light-diffusing ceilings and the large translucent facade areas. Individual windows draw the visitor's attention, providing views up to Reims' cathedral.