Museo Universidad de Navarra, una apuesta por la investigación en arte contemporáneo al servicio de la sociedad
Museo Universidad de NavarraContemporary art research at the service of society
Architectural design of the Museum presented in Madrid, which will begin construction in November and is scheduled to open in autumn 2013
The architectural project for the Museo Universidad de Navarra was presented in Madrid at the ISEM headquarters, in the presence of the architect Rafael Moneo; Jaime García del Barrio, deputy rector; and Miguel López-Remiro, director of the Museum. Work on the construction of the Museum will begin in the first half of November and it is expected to be inaugurated in the fall of 2013.
With this initiative, the University of Navarra aims to promote dialogue between knowledge to facilitate new advances in artistic creation, as well as to expand art in university life as an ideal complement to the comprehensive training of its students, without renouncing an intense dissemination activity aimed at society as a whole. In short, to bring the University's own tasks -teaching, research and transfer- and the successful models of other research areas of the center to the visual arts.
PHOTO: Courtesy
Origin of the Project
The project was born in 2008, when the University of Navarra received the donation of the contemporary art collection of María Josefa Huarte Beaumont, who thus realized her wish that the collection would remain in Navarra -her place of origin- and remain open to the public and under constant study.
The Museum will house not only this art collection but also the Photographic Fund, which the University has had since 1990 as a result of another donation, the legacy of José Ortiz-Echagüe, which has been expanded over the years with new donations and acquisitions. The photography collection of the University of Navarra is one of the largest and most interesting collections in our country, with more than 10,000 photographs and 100,000 negatives.
A work designed by Rafael Moneo
The project is the work of the renowned Navarrese architect Rafael Moneo, with a long career in the design of Art Centers. Buildings such as the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, the extension of the Prado Museum, the Kursaal in San Sebastian, the Moderna Museet (Stockholm) or the Fine Arts in Houston (Texas), are part of his museum work. He has been dean of the Faculty of Architecture at Harvard University and has received numerous awards such as the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts from the Spanish Government (1992), the Prince of Viana Award from the Government of Navarre (1993) and the Pritzker Architecture Prize (1996).
The museum's location on campus is a faithful reflection of the center's mission: a viewpoint from the city to the campus and a meeting place with art for university students. Rafael Moneo describes the site of the center as follows:"A path planted with poplars of some size defines the limit of what is the property of the University of Navarra. After choosing where to erect the museum, it was thought that the building should blend and merge into the landscape so that it could be understood as a continuation of it".
The Museum will consist of 11,000 square meters, of which 2,700 will be exhibition halls. The other large space on the site will be the Auditorium, with a capacity for 700 spectators and a good level of stage equipment.
Corporate Structure
For the proper management of the Museum, a corporate structure has been foreseen to guarantee the start-up of the project and its continuity. Individuals, companies and institutions that contribute capital, until the Museum is opened and fully operational, will be considered founding members.
The realization of the 11,000 square meter Museum will require a total investment of €25 million.
The founding members can make a financial contribution or sponsor a space in the Museum. In addition to helping with financing, they participate in the strategic evolution of the project through active collaboration in different crucial aspects of the Museum: artistic, collection, technological and educational.