MUSEE SOULAGES DESIGN BY RCR ARQUITECTES WITH PASSELAC & ROQUES

MUSEE SOULAGES DESIGN BY RCR ARQUITECTES WITH PASSELAC & ROQUES

MUSEE SOULAGES DESIGN BY RCR ARQUITECTES WITH PASSELAC & ROQUES

In 2008, RCR Arquitectes teamed up with the firm Passelac & Roques architects to take part in the Greater Rodez Authority’s design competition for the Soulages Museum. Chosen among 98 applicants, their project placed the museum on the north side of the entirely renovated Foirail garden. They grasped the significance of the site, considering it as a link between the historic centre and the new quarters.

RESPECTFUL OF ITS SURROUNDINGS

Respectful of its surroundings, the building is organised in a succession of cubes. The intervals remind the passerby of the ''fenestras'' in the Aveyron and gives way to contemplation. Orientated towards the garden, the southern wall does not exceed three meters whilst on the the northern side of the site, the ‘'boxes’' overlook a pathway.

THE STEEL REFLECTS PIERRE SOULAGES’ WORK

The cladding is made of Corten steel also known as weathering steel. When exposed to bad weather (i.e. to corrosion), this material creates a protective layer of rust.

''The Corten steel ages with time and perfectly suits the park’s natural surroundings. It is not a lifeless and sanitized material. Furthermore, its colour-range echoes Rodez’s pink -rey colours.'' (RCR Arquitectes). The shades of this steel also reflect Pierre Soulages’ work.

A UNIQUE PLACE

The Soulages Museum is located in the heart of Rodez town, in Foirail Garden, a stone's thrown from the cathedral. Designed and conceived by Catalan RCR Arquitectes– Passelac & Roques Architects, the musem is spread on the north side of the entirely renovated Foirail garden. It fits its surroundings perfectly. Well-known for the attention they pay to the geographical location and surrounding scenery, Ramon Vilalta, Carme Pigem et Rafael Aranda immediately understood the value of that unique place.

THE LIGHT

The museum will take the fragility of the collections into account. Arranged in practical volumes around a monitored light, it will provide obscured and protected areas for papers (Walnut Stains, printed works), whereas the five high ''boxes''

will harbour the paintings and the cardboards of Conques' stained-glass windows under a zenithal light.

4 LEVELS

Four levels. From top to 1st floor:

-The storehouses (safety standard)

-The documentary centre and a workshop for children

- The permanent exhibitions' rooms with the works from Soulages' donations

- The temporary exhibition room dedicated to contemporary artists

http://musee-soulages.grand-rodez.com/museum-soulages/

All the information had taken by Musee Soulages which have  about architectural information of museum, architects information and Benoît Decron’s essay who is the  Chief Curator & Director of the Greater Rodez museums. Some photographs had taken by Musee Soulages and photographer Vincent Boutin.
You may visit Pierre Soulages' information and paintings from my blog archive to click below link.

http://mymagicalattic.blogspot.com.tr/2014/08/french-painter-pierre-soulages.html

AN ‘’ UNUSUAL ‘’ MUSEUM

Neither a mausoleum nor a monographic chore, the Soulages Museum will be a place for meetings and new experiences. While being a genuine modern and contemporary art museum, it will favour exchanges with similar institutions or foundations, with great freedom in its choices from promising to seasoned artists, through different

themes and links from one historical era to another (the Middle Ages, for instance, whom Soulages holds dear).

The museum fits into the European gathering of museums. The Soulages Museum will be ‘' unusual ‘ according to the painter's words,: '' It will highligt the process of artistic creation, the role of the unexpected that lies in it, and without using banal teaching methods, I hope it will open the eyes of the public and awake their spirit to understand what art stands for. ''

Visitor services will particularly strive to explain the meaning of the artist's know-how and gestures. The audience will explore Pierre Soulages' works in the museum by following an itinerary that combines the painter's history– his biography–with other expressions of his creativity, such as oil paintings, paintings on paper, printed works or stained-glass windows.

The bright rooms with high ceilings will alternate with the darkened rooms with low ceilings to tackle specific topics, including the very first figurative works Soulages made in Rodez, the inspiration he found in the Aveyron, the hanging of artworks, the Walnut Stains, the different techniques of engraving, or the works he did at Conques.

Each aspect of the donation will be associated with its constituent technique. That is why Conques stained-glass windows are a link between monumental medieval heritage and contemporary creation, and act as a catharsis: they are the accurate portrait of the artist. In Conques abbey, Soulages thought of a new light. In Rodez, we must show clearly how we can approach that form of light thanks to experimental witnesses. From matter to thought, with tools and hands.

Benoît Decron,

Chief Curator & Director of the Greater Rodez museums

http://musee-soulages.grand-rodez.com/museum-soulages

RCR ARQUITECTES

RAFAEL ARANDA, CARME PIGEM & RAMON VILALTA

Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem and Ramon Vilalta, under the name of “RCR Arquitectes”, have been working together since 1988 in Olot, Catalonia. They pay careful attention to the geographical location and surrounding scenery. A quality , for which their work was awarded consultant status for Garrotxa Volcanic Natural Park (Catalonia). Their work has been praised all over the World.

The agency won several national and international competitions:

Punta de la Aldea Lighthouse in Gran Canaria in 1988, new Barcelona provincial courts in 2010,

in Belgium (Hofheide crematorium, 2006–Gand media library), in Dubai (The Edge Business Bay, 2007), and in France (The Soulages Museum, in Rodez, 2008–''La

Cuisine'' Arts Centre, Nègrepelisse, 2009–Font-Romeu's school, 2010).

RCR Arquitectes has been awarded all around the world.

2005: Prix national de la culture, Prix d’Architecture de la Generalitat de Catalunya.

2008: Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France.

2010: Honorary member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

2012: Honorary member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Awards

Finalists of the Mies Van der Rohe's European Union Prize.

Best eco-friendly construction Quatrium Prize.

First LEED certification in Catalonia.

They also won four international prizes:

Contractworld, seven FAD prizes, IV European Rosa Barba prize (ex aequo).

http://musee-soulages.grand-rodez.com/museum-soulages/

FRANCOIS ROQUES & ROMAIN PASSELAC

Respectively born in 1977 and 1978, François Roques and Romain Passelac both graduated from Toulouse's National School of Architecture in 2002, having studied previously in France and Spain. Before joining forces, the first one completed a higher educational course in Canada, the second in Catalonia. Thanks to these diverse, mutual and complementary experiences, a strong and stable professional partnership grew naturally between the two architects. It led to the creation of the

Passelac & Roques Architects agency in 2004 in Narbonne. The agency had the chance to work on diverse projects on different scales, which allowed it to gain knowledge in varied areas such as architecture, city planning, reorganisation,

scenic design, furniture and so forth. They recently delivered the Soulages in Rodez and a wine cellar in Narbonne.

http://musee-soulages.grand-rodez.com/museum-soulages/

SCENIC DESIGN - PHILIPPE MAFFRE

Heritage architect–Museum design (MAW ARCHITECTE)

Philippe Maffre has been a licensed architect since 1987. Since 2005, he's been managing MAW (Maffre Architecture Workshop), an architecture agency dedicated to develop heritage sites. He completed the Ecole de Chaillot's Heritage Architecture DSA from 2011 to 2013, which allowed him to work on listed historical monuments.

http://musee-soulages.grand-rodez.com/museum-soulages/