Museum of Fine Arts’ New (and Old) Additions
Picture Montréal’s skyline, encompassing both historic and modern buildings, harmonizing to create a unique and divergent architectural hybrid for the city. Now, picture your dear grandmom with an iPod, an earphone bud in one ear and her hearing aid in the other. Odd, right? Both visions entertain the idea of juxtaposing new and old, which is exemplified by the newly constructed pavilion and the restored 19th century church of the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts.
As the newest edition to the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, the new Claire and Marc Bourgie Pavilion consists of a white marble facade and broad glass windows that render magnificent panoramas of the cityscape. Officially open to the public on October 14, the pavilion showcases a chronological display of more than 600 Québécois and Canadian works, some being shown for the first time. Despite the fact that it wasn’t even open to the public yet, the pavilion already received the prestigious Canadian Architect Award of Merit and the Prix d’excellence 2011 from the Institut de Développement Urbain du Québec. Sometimes looking like a futuristic spaceship has its perks.
Now we turn to the old Erskine and American church, with its rusticated stonework of grey limestone and brown sandstone, open to the public on October 11. The 19th century romanesque Revival church has been renovated into the museum’s Bourgie Concert Hall, which intimately seats 444. The hall has high hopes to host a number of different events throughout the year including the 125 concerts already scheduled. Just like its neighboring pavilion, the hall has a number of windows as well; the 146 stained-glass windows are colorful, breathtaking and unique in Canada, and notes the MMFA’s desire to renovate the church but still preserve its historic integrity.
The bridging of different generations often occurs in order to fulfill a common goal. With the MMFA’s double opening of the new pavilion and the renovated concert hall, the museum achieves both its goal of giving the public access to an extensive array of art in addition to celebrating Montréal’s divergent architecture. Now, as for your grandmom and her iPod, she just wanted to jam to some of her favorite Rap songs, you down?
http://www.mbam.qc.ca/au2011/en/index.html