BIG + A+Architecture + Egis + Base + L’Echo + Celsius Environnement + CCVH have been announced winner of the international design competition for the new Cité du Corps Humain (Museum of the Human Body) in Montpellier, France.

The Museum of the Human Body, which will be part of the newly developed area Parc Marianne, is rooted in the humanist and medical tradition of Montpellier and its world renowned medical school, which dates back to the 10th century. The new Museum will explore the human body from an artistic, scientific and societal approach through cultural activities, interactive exhibitions, performances and workshops.

courtesy BIG

The 7,800 m² (ca. 84,000 sqf) museum is conceived as a confluence of the park and the city – nature and architecture – bookending the Charpak Park along with the Montpellier city hall. The building's program consists of eight major spaces on one level, organically shaped and lifted to form an underlying continuous space. Multiple interfaces between all functions create views to the park, access to daylight, and optimizing internal connections.

courtesy BIG

'Like the mixture of two incompatible substances – oil and vinegar – the urban pavement and the parks turf flow together in a mutual embrace forming terraced pockets overlooking the park and elevating islands of nature above the city. A series of seemingly singular pavilions that weave together to form a unified institution – like individual fingers united together in a mutual grip', explains Bjarke Ingels.

courtesy BIG

The museum's roof functions as an ergonomic garden – a dynamic landscape of vegetal and mineral surfaces that allow the park's visitors to explore and express their bodies in various ways – from contemplation to the performance – from relaxing to exercising – from the soothing to the challenging.

courtesy BIG

The façades of the Museum of the Human Body are transparent, maximizing the visual and physical connection to the surroundings. On the sinuous façade that oscillates between facing North and South, East and West, the optimum louver orientation varies constantly, protecting sunlight, while also resembling the patterns of a human fingerprint – both unique and universal in nature.

courtesy BIG

The jury, headed by the City's Mayor Ms Hélène Mandroux, chose BIG over 5 other shortlisted international teams and praised BIG's design for combining innovative, environmental and functional qualities. The new Museum will contribute to Montpellier's rich scientific and cultural heritage, attracting tourists, families, as well as school classes, academics and art lovers. Construction is scheduled to start in 2016, and the building will open its doors to the public in 2018.

The Museum of the Human Body follows BIG's experience in Museum Design as well as contributes to BIG's growing activities in France. BIG recently completed the Danish National Maritime Museum, in which crucial historic elements are integrated with an innovative concept of galleries. Other current cultural projects include the LEGO House in Billund, the recently announced Blaavand Bunker Museum in Western Denmark, and MECA Cultural Center in Bordeaux, along with EuropaCity, an 80 hectare masterplan on the outskirts of Paris.

+ All images and drawings courtesy BIG

courtesy BIG

courtesy BIG

courtesy BIG

The A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation will be donating the necessary funding to build BIG's BLÅVAND BUNKER MUSEUM in Varde, on the west coast of Denmark.

Transforming a former German WWII bunker, within the protected shorelands of Blåvand in Denmark, the 2,500m2 (ca. 27,000 ft2) new museum will be composed of four main volumes, housing four independent institutions: a bunker museum, an amber museum, a history museum and a special exhibitions gallery – within an exhibition landscape carved out of the dunes.

courtesy BIG

courtesy BIG

Contrary to the existing closed concrete lump, the new museum will, in its architecture, function as an open heart integrated into the landscape. The museum is in every way the opposite of the militant history with its more closed, dark and heavy features. Organized around an open central square, the galleries allow much light and will give magnificent views to the surrounding countryside. The bunker is a war machine without holes for doors and windows and rejects all humanity. In contrast, the museum is integrated into the landscape and invites visitors inside.

Bjarke Ingels

We wanted a museum that was fully integrated into the landscape while at the same time being architecturally outstanding – functional, spectacular and invisible. BIG has created a harmonious and beautiful building that stands out in enormous contrast to the brutal Tirpitz bunker (adjacent to the new Museum), yet the design pays respect to the unique dune landscape. It is a fantastic place where we will be able to convey the big stories of Jutland. Thanks to the generous donation from the A.P. Møller Foundation this now becomes a reality.

Claus Kjeld Jensen, director of the Museum of Varde City and District

The new museum will be a cultural landmark attracting tourists to Varde as well as benefitting business in the region. I am deeply grateful to the A. P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation for this donation as it will contribute greatly for future generations to have access to knowledge about the history of Denmark.

Mayor Gylling Haahr

The Blåvand Bunker museum contributes further to BIG's experience with museum design – playfully integrating landscape with cultural programs while preserving historic value and the natural environment. BIG recently completed the Danish National Maritime Museum in which crucial historic elements are integrated with an innovative concept of galleries. Other current cultural projects include the LEGO House in Billund, MECA Cultural Center in Bordeaux, France, Kimball Art Centre in Park City, Utah, USA, and the recently won competition for the new Human Body Museum in Montpellier, France.

+ All images and drawings courtesy BIG

courtesy Agence SML

How to fit a 1-bedroom apartment into an atypical high and narrow volume, the roof being the only possible source of daylight? This is the question to which Clemence Eliard and Marc Sirvin – architects at Agence SML – had to find answers to to create this surprising apartment.

courtesy Agence SML

The unusual layout of this apartment resulted from merging several batches acquired over the years, located at different stories of the building. The owner, who had been living there for some time, desired to restructure the volume and create a home office.

courtesy Agence SML

The architects envisioned the space as a tower in which each level would have its proper function: the bathroom in the basement, the kitchen-living-room at ground level, the home-office and dressing-room on the 1st floor and the bedroom higher up on the 2nd floor. These functions being all linked together by alternating tread stairs, daylight coming through a full height void. The ground floor, located in the back of a courtyard and previously lit in second day, would thus become an illuminated space thanks to the skylights.

courtesy Agence SML

The apartment on 4 levels has a surface area of 25 square meters.

All details have been thought of in order to optimize space and maximize light: the alternating tread stairs have a limited footprint and remain practical in spite of their steepness. Carpentry and closets are integrated, the bedroom is nested at the very top of the tower, the office floor is a metal grid so that light can flow through it.

While conceiving of this unusual apartment, the architects were guided by simplicity and minimalism: all surfaces are painted white, and metalwork contrasts sharply with the raw wood of the carpentry.

+ All image courtesy Agence SML