Competition project for the expansion of the museum in Chur by Barozzi Veiga

Bach's fugues are not a source of inspiration only for musicians and composers, but also for artists, visual artists, and designers who seek to imitate this imaginative compositional principle of arrangement. The Barcelona studio Barozzi Veiga directly named their project to expand the Federal Art Museum "The Art of Fugue." Among the judges of the two-stage competition were, among others, Max Dudler and Christoph Gantenbein, who selected from a total of eighteen proposals.

1st place - Estudio Barozzi Veiga, Barcelona
2nd place - EM2N, Zurich
3rd place - Valerio Olgiati, Flims
4th place - Buchner Bründler, Basel
5th place - Durisch + Nolli Architetti, Massagno

Other participants in the competition included Swiss architects Morger Dettli, Holzer Kobler, e2a eckert eckert, Peter Meili Architekten, Spanish Josep Lluis Mateo, Portuguese Aires Mateus e Associados, Viennese Adolf Krischanitz and Ortner und Ortner Baukunst, and the German office Staab Architekten. Barozzi Veiga already succeeded last summer in Switzerland by winning the competition for the Musée des Beaux Arts in Lausanne.
According to the judges, the winning project was able to clearly and accurately integrate into the existing architectural environment. The design also features spaces best suited in their proportions for the needs of the collections and offers a flexible spatial structure for temporary exhibitions. The layout and the solution of the load-bearing structure are equally effective. A massive central pillar houses all the staircases and elevators. The spatial logic and uniqueness of the object also extends to the underground floor. The flat relief of the facade, cast from exposed concrete, refers to the neighboring Villa Planta. The expression of the facade emphasizes the uniqueness of the entire object. The garden of Villa Planta has been preserved. According to the judges, the expansion of the museum will create 'a new consequential outdoor space.' The jury recommended that the canton of Graubünden commission the Spanish architects Barozzi Veiga. The estimated construction costs are projected at 28.5 million francs. Construction work will begin in October, and the museum's opening is planned for September 2015.
All competition projects can be seen from April 3 to April 29, 2012, at the Federal Art Museum in Chur.

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