MUDAM the Contemporary Art Museum of Luxembourg - I.M. Pei - 2006
Mudam was designed by Sino-American and Pritzker Prize winning architect Ieoh Ming Pei
The architecture of the museum is intended as a dialogue between the natural and historical context of its site. In its orientation it represents a link between the past, the former Fort Thüngen and the historic city of Luxembourg, the present and the future, the European district of Kirchberg. With its neighbouring cultural institutions that include the Musée Dräi Eechelen, the Philharmonic Concert Hall by Christian de Portzamparc, and the Place de l’Europe by Ricardo Bofill, Mudam is an iconic architectural landmark of Luxembourg City.
The building is spread over three levels of 4,000 m2 of surface area dedicated to the museum's exhibitions and collection. The simple volumes and generous spaces and the play between interior and exterior with views onto the surrounding Park Dräi Eechelen are covered with an audacious glass canopy. I. M. Pei's use of the honey-coloured limestone known as Magny Doré endows the building with a distinctive luminosity animated by subtle plays of light and shadows across the day and the seasons.
The asymetrical V shape of the building, with 45 degree angles, rises over the ruins. Tucked into its fortified walls, the introverted shape of the fortress is still discernible in Pei’s new building. The geometry of the museum is, so to speak, an extension of the fortress. The contrast with the fortress is all the more interesting because Pei’s building has very geometrical volumes, and he opted for shapes that are both modern and classical. His architecture is formalist, while remaining sober and monumental. Access to the museum is via two bridges that cross the dry moat and converge leading to the arrowhead that reflects the shape of the museum.
After the main reception area the visitor enters a space of light. As he moves forward he comes face to face with the Grand Hall, a glass structure 33 m high, made of a metallic frame surmounted by a bell-turret with a square top. This is the heart of the museum from which one can access its other spaces. A second glass structure on the right is as impressive. In response to the contour of the hall which stems from the original layout of the ancient foundations, I. M. Pei has designed a rounded and curved glass-structure. On the left, another glass structure, symmetrical to the one to the right but flattened, highlights the design of the different elements that make up the metallic structure.
The building also offers a subtle outlook on the neighbouring landscapes by providing an unexpected view of the forest and its surroundings. Uniquely, a balcony that overhangs the Grand Hall offers a view of the historical city centre, punctuated in the foreground by the Dräi Eechelen (Three Acorns).
Set back from the building is a small octagonal construction – the Henry J. and Erna D. Leir Pavilion – linked by a transparent footbridge. This pavilion is surmounted by a glass-structure with a bell-turret and gives another view over the Park Dräi Eechelen. On the first floor, two large exhibition spaces can be accessed by the large staircase which starts in the Grand Hall, or by lateral staircases that are in themselves great architectonic feats. The sheds that we find in the first floor exhibition spaces allow natural and widespread lighting without shades or reflections. These sheds are made of architectonic concrete beams, with a maximum span of 29 m. The light is spread in the rooms through plate glass windows. The sheds remain invisible from the outside, below the level of the walls.
Level -1 introduces the visitor into a more intimate space where the overhead light gives way to a twilight appropriate to exhibit luminous works. The auditorium with 120 seats is also housed here, as well as the museum offices. The basement (level -2) houses the technical rooms and includes a room which can be used for art works and installations of exceptional dimensions. The gallery floors are in natural oak wood, the walls are out of plaster. The building is covered outside, as in the circulation points (entrance, Grand Hall, boutique) with limestone, the “Magny doré”.
There are ceilings made from architectonic concrete, and through the frames one can see the grain of the softwood, Oregon pine, that was used to cast them. Graceful staircases, moulded out of architectural concrete, link one level to another.
The museum presents international exhibitions and projects from all areas of contemporary art. At the time when Pei was commissioned to design the museum, the collection of art works was only just beginning. This meant that the architect was unable to create tailor-made rooms for specific works of art. Even though Pei’s design was not geared to specific works, it is nevertheless not neutral: just as the form of the building resulted from the situation in the location, the positioning of some of the works of art will result from the situation in the building. Art and architecture are automatically linked closely with each other. The architecture does not try to dominate art, it simply wants to provide it with a framework.