Luxembourg City Art Museum

Architects: Diane Heirend & Philippe Schmit architectes, L–Luxemburg
Structural engineering: Ney & Partners, B–Brüssel/L–Luxemburg

M 1:2500 Site plan
M 1:500 Sections
M 1:500 Floor plans
M 1:20 Vertical sections
M 1:20 Horizontal sections

Seen from the street, the single-storey building massing allows the original building to continue to occupy centre stage. The new structure’s inclined roof surfaces allude to the gently modulated landforms. When viewing the addition from the park, one becomes aware of its actual size: the design takes advantage of the topography of the former fortress’s moat to bring daylight into the first basement. The second basement, on the other hand, is fully embedded in the earth. These three levels accommodate eleven exhibition spaces; they are connected to the original building via a bright, lofty foyer.
However, the new building has more to offer than skillfully modelled massing and spaces: the treatment of the facades makes a substantial contribution to the museum’s convincing mix of autonomy and restraint. Perforated metal that has been bent into a gentle V-shape cloaks the new structure; the surface is animated by the play of sunlight and the shadow created by the nearby trees. In order to match the earth-brown tones of the wood, the architects selected red brass in an alloy consisting of 85% copper and 15% zinc.