The jury mandated by the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec (MNBAQ) has set its sights on the architectural firm fabg to design Espace Riopelle. This pavilion to be erected at the entrance to the Plains of Abraham is intended to reflect the painter and “his work in perpetual motion”.
The Montreal firm fabg is hiding behind the buildings of the Cirque du Soleil head office, the head office of the Caisse de depot et placement du Québec, the Théâtre de Quat’Sous and the Verdun Auditorium.
Espace Riopelle will be built of wood and glass, bathed in natural light, according to the preliminary plans unveiled on Wednesday. “The architecture will lend itself to multiple readings, sometimes evoking the artist’s studio with its wooden ceilings, sometimes the northern character and the landscapes of Isle-aux-Grues with its green terraces of various species”, explains the museum by press release.
Modeling the future Espace Riopelle
This new museum space will house Jean-Paul Riopelle’s largest collection in the world. It must also serve as a crossroads between the different pavilions of the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec.
“Inspired by an expression of the artist, who said he was ‘always on the run’, we wanted to create a building in the image of his work in perpetual motion”, underlined Éric Gauthier, associate architect at fabg, during the announcement of the winning firm.
The cost of Espace Riopelle is $42.5 million.
Construction work will begin in 2023, the year of celebrations surrounding Riopelle’s 100th anniversary. Thus, from January 2023, the Gérard-Morisset pavilion and the central pavilion will close their doors to the public. The reopening of the museum is planned between the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026.