nMAC

Museums embody our greatest cultural and social aspirations via their mission to collect, disseminate, and inspire new ideas. A Museum of Contemporary Art assumes an elevated status within this milieu where it defines the edges of our cultural production and at it’s best, reflects the current and future states of our evolution. The institution operates within and in response to global forces that constantly fluctuate and challenge its very stability. These forces continuously reinvent context, meaning, funding, curation, and are addressed through adaptive/pro-active strategies. Museum design (physical, organizational, conceptual and institutional) must respond to these dynamic forces and embody our aspirations while shaping and evolving culture.

The Nuevo Museo de Arte Contemporáneo site is located along the Avenida de Mayo axis that runs East to West through the heart of Buenos Aires. The design links and re-enforces local connections and strengthens the relationship of art to heritage. It provides a new and adaptable public event space to attract visitors, while stitching the civic space through the new museum program. The project aspires to enmesh the new functions within the city fabric while engaging visitors to explore and discover the many layers of culture within Buenos Aires, a city appointed by UNESCO as a “City of Design.”

The design strategy uses a systemic logic to develop a dual museum; one (introspective, slow to adapt) housing the museum proper and the other (fast and nimble) erodes the edges of the institution conceptually and formally, producing a second, ticketless museum where the city’s culture is in constant formation. This dichotomy captures new curatorial opportunities along with alternative programming. They are one synthetic whole while also distinct and autonomous; sharing a progressive lean toward the future. The eroded spaces allow for after hours programming and alternate funding strategies that sustainably strengthen the institution.

PLUS SUM is a contemporary design practice focused on projects where strategic, systemic, and progressive ideas can be brought to bear on complex and dynamic design problems. Projects vary across type and scale and are always seeking new opportunities to uniquely express client goals and aspirations. We believe that design can add value to any situation, synthesizing disparate and conflicting issues, while revealing intangible qualities that stir the spirit, engage the intellect and activate the senses.

2014 Architect of the Year: PLUS-SUM Studio - 2014 International Design Awards
Project: Guggenheim Helsinki
Top Prize in Architecture, “Architectural Project of the Year 14.”

2014 Gold (First Prize in Architecture) - 2014 International Design Awards
Project: Guggenheim Helsinki
Architecture Category, Urban Design Sub-Category.

2014 Silver (Second Prize in Architecture) - 2014 International Design Awards
Project: Grey Matter – Louisville Children’s Museum
Architecture Category, Urban Design Sub-Category.

2014 Bronze (Third Prize in Architecture) - 2014 International Design Awards
Project: Grey Matter – Louisville Children’s Museum
Architecture Category, Conceptual Sub-Category.

2014 Bronze (Third Prize in Architecture) - 2014 International Design Awards
Project: nMAC
Architecture Category, Urban Design Sub-Category