en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Musée national Picasso-Paris has officially launched the "Picasso 2030" renovation plan, a project aimed at reconfiguring the museum housed in the Hôtel Salé in the Marais district of Paris's 3rd arrondissement. This includes constructing a new wing and expanding and redesigning the gardens, with a total budget of €50 million (including tax). Museum director Cécile Debray stated in the competition brief that the project aims to serve as a model for reinterpreting and highlighting outstanding architectural and artistic heritage, encompassing the historic building and its interior, the urban environment of the Marais, and Picasso's sculptures.
The "Picasso 2030" project faces multiple challenges. Currently, the museum suffers from unsuitable exhibition spaces and complex visitor circulation, while lacking dedicated spaces for young audiences and having an overly small gift shop. Design teams must submit their applications by July 6. The future work will be managed by the Operator of Cultural Heritage and Cultural Industry Real Estate (Oppic), with plans to create a new landmark building featuring a distinctive architectural identity, including approximately 800 square meters of temporary exhibition space. The new extension will be laid out along the museum's existing gardens and the adjacent Léonor-Fini municipal square.
The competition requires merging the two green spaces into a single 2,300-square-meter large sculpture garden to display the artist's bronze statues. Given that the museum's current condition no longer meets environmental requirements, design teams must also propose solutions to improve the building's carbon footprint, particularly in terms of energy consumption and water management. Cécile Debray stated that the goal of the spatial reorganization is to break the museum's insularity, making it more present within the block facing rue Vieille-du-Temple, and becoming "more welcoming, more functional, and more open."
After the first round of applications, a jury will select five teams in the fall of 2026, with the winning project expected to be chosen in early 2027. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2029 and is expected to continue until July 2031, carried out in phases, with the museum operating while work is underway.
Key dates for the Hôtel Salé: Built by architect Jean Boullier between 1656 and 1659; underwent major renovations from 1829 to 1884 to house the École centrale des arts et manufactures; the building was acquired by the City of Paris in 1968 and partially classified as a historic monument four years later; from 1979 to 1985, architect Roland Simounet transformed the building and gardens to create a museum dedicated to the works of Pablo Picasso; facade and exterior decorative restoration work was carried out from 2006 to 2009; the museum was closed from 2009 to 2014 for renovation and expansion, led by Jean-François Bodin & Associés and chief historic monuments architect Stéphane Thouin.
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