Museion | Museum of Modern Art

6, Via Dante, Merano, Italy

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Museion | Museum of Modern Art

6, Via Dante, Merano, Italy

Firm

Krüger Schuberth Vandreike (KSV)

Type

Cultural › Museum

YEAR

2008

SIZE

500,000 sqft - 1,000,000 sqft

In early 2001 the autonomous province of South Tyrol organized an international competition for a Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Among 284 competing entries, the design by KSV Krüger Schuberth Vandreike was awarded the first prize. Jury statement: "The architects proposed a museum building of striking simplicity, comprising a convincing logo for constituting identity within a heterogeneous context."The museum is situated on the edge of the old town of Bolzano; its shimmering silver aluminum façades are clearly visible from the surrounding mountains. The building is placed along a conceptual axis between the old, historic city and the urban expansion planned during the Mussolini era; its two front facades are tapered inwards towards an open reception and exhibition hall. Art and city thus enter into an immediate dialogue, conveyed visually by the new bridge across the River Talvera, also designed by KSV. The museum transcends the concept of the introverted “art box” and communicates with the exterior through the glazed façade; art thus enters public perception. During the day, natural daylight is directed into the exhibition areas through operable translucent louvers, dramatizing space. At sunset, the louvers close to become a huge projection surface: image, light, and video art become a part of urban space.The high-tech, glazed front façades are conceived as active climate façade. Depending on the position of the sun, the multilayered façades are used for cooling or heating of the building.