Jurcă Ștefan, k. Ylber
04/2024 – 120 Hours
In contrast to the interpretation of the Bilbao effect prevalent at the turn of the century, which have influenced the proposals for the 2009 Andorra National Museum of Arts competition, today’s interpretation of a Bilbao Effect suggests a renewed approach. As architects we need to readress old and new themes: local identity, building tradition, materiality, but also sustainability and resource consumption.
Our challenge was to integrate the site’s narrow shape with two long, vertically stacked volumes – the lower housing permanent exhibitions and the upper special exhibitions. Their volumes’ long shapes emphasize the views at their ends, over the city and the mountains around.
Cladded with locally sourced stone, the structure evokes both the shape and materiality of a traditional Andorran house with a modern twist. At the southern end, the two stacked volumes split away from each other horizontally, blending solidity with lightness for a dynamic spatial experience.
