Narbonne, France: British architectural and engineering firm Foster + Partners (in collaboration with museography design specialist Adrien Gardère Studio) have unveiled Narbo Via Museum – a contemporary building inspired by the Roman antiquities it houses. The museum site is adjacent to the picturesque Canal de la Robine waterway and was conceived both visually and thematically as a landmark of and monument to the region's rich archaeological history.
The 8000 sq. m building sits on a raised podium and is surrounded by landscaped areas. Gardens inspired by Roman courtyards and traditional French formal gardens offer tranquility and botanical learning opportunities, a large amphitheatre can host outdoor displays and events, and a new ramp links the museum to the existing Canal towpath to create an accessible pedestrian connection to the city centre a short distance away. The new museum forms part of a more ambitious cultural and scientific undertaking to revive the ancient city of Narbo Martius by showcasing artefacts from and providing education about its rich Roman history.
The key hybrid architectural/cultural feature is the museum's 'Lapidary Wall' - a shelving grid that showcases reliefs and stones from the permanent collection in addition to functioning as a natural boundary separating the museum's public galleries from its research and storage functions.
As Hugh Stewart, Partner, Foster + Partners says:
“The idea of bringing the city’s remarkable ancient collection into an unashamedly contemporary context was a fascinating challenge. Working with Adrien Gardère, we developed the concept of a vertical display wall running the full width of the building, which puts the exhibits at the heart of the museum.”
Through the Lapidary Wall, visitors can see conservators, researchers, and archaeologists working with artefacts in the research areas on the other side. These glimpses through a mosaic of stone and light lend a storied, textured element to the experience of the learning journey. The solution is also a practical one, with the flexible display framework allowing the reliefs to be easily reconfigured and the space used as an active tool for learning.
The designers were inspired by ancient construction principles that emphasize the fluidity and functionality of spaces. A concrete roof canopy unites the museum's varied spaces and functions, which include permanent and temporary exhibition gallery spaces, an auditorium, a restaurant and bookstore, study rooms, a multimedia education centre, and research, restoration, and storage facilities. The roof canopy also provides thermal mass which enhances the volume's sustainability and extends to provide coverage over the walkways surrounding the museum. It is elevated above a clerestory punctuated with light wells which allow natural light in without damaging delicate antiquities which require controlled lighting exposure.
The project's sustainability agenda is further accented by following Roman technological principles of locating many of the services within a subterranean void. By pairing this with the volume's high ceilings, natural air conditioning and temperature control are realized through a thermal flywheel effect, with cool air below the ground pushing warm air upwards to be vented outside. Honest and sturdy materials were chosen, with coloured layers of dry mixed concrete tamped into place on-site, creating a stratified look that matches the appearance of Roman concrete and echoes the archaeological theme of the museum. Thick load-bearing walls are thermally insulated and support the roof with double T beams made of reinforced concrete. Glazing is bolted directly onto the walls.
By connecting layers of history both thematically and physically, the museum comes to life as a space of 'living antiquity'. The museum connects in mission and values to two other important regional sites - the Horreum ('warehouse') galleries built under the city in the 1st Century BC, and Amphoralis, a local museum and garden sited on and dedicated to an ancient pottery workshop that mass-produced wine amphorae also in the 1st century. The new Narbo Via Museum functions as a kind of temporal connective tissue weaving the three sites and their stories together into a wider showcase of the region's cultural legacy. Traversing the museum and its partner sites, guests enjoy an immersive, multifaceted, and often visceral experience of technologies and practices of the past which ensures that knowledge of Narbonne's rich cultural and material history is preserved for many generations to come.
