“Paul Valéry wrote that the soul needs beauty, the body what is useful or comfortable, and society needs what is durable. For me, those are the three aspects of architecture and they cannot be separated,” Viguier explains.
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It was Jean Paul Viguier’s 1992 design for the site renovations for the Pont du Gard, the ancient Roman acqueduct near Nîmes, France, and its Visitor Center and Museum that caught the McNay Art Museum architecture search committee’s attention and eventually won him the opportunity to create the museum’s new Jane and Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions. A self-proclaimed modernist, Viguier’s conceptual design impressed the committee with its great sensitivity to the site and the creative use of the landscape’s contours to create an elegant structure.
By making use of the McNay’s naturally sloping site, Viguier has designed a two storey addition that never exceeds the height of the original McNay while reducing the new building’s footprint. The new Stieren Center defers to the existing museum not only through its low profile, but also by its choice of materials, including a soft green stone and bronze-colored metal that will give warmth to the new structure and will contrast with the brightness of the original building. In his design, Viguier has been inspired by the dialogue that exists between the indoors and outdoors at the McNay, where one is constantly rewarded with views of the inner courtyard or the exterior grounds while visiting the galleries. A similar dialogue has been designed for the Stieren Center, particularly in the Tobin Exhibition Galleries and Sculpture Gallery.
An Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) and 2004 winner for the Best New Building in Chicago for his innovate design of the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower, Accor Hotels and Resorts, Viguier is fascinated by engineering and believes in the subtle blend of landscape architecture and site development.
Team Members:
Jean-Paul Viguer, s.a. d'architecture, Design Architect
Ford, Powell & Carson, Executive Architect
TGP Partners, Landscape Architect
Pape-Dawson Engineers, Consulting Engineers
Paratus Group, Project Manager & Owner Representative
C&G Partners
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