Le Musée d’Art du Brise-Vent
The sails of the Brise-Vent Le Havre are an unexpected source of beauty, otherwise located within the industrial Port of Le Havre at the mouth of the River Seine. The striking unique shape, owing to its functional history of shielding the harbour from wind, is already an interesting canvas in which we can build, arrange and develop upon to bring out its inner beauty. Our proposed museum design will capitalise on the unexpected. Consider the location within the bustling Port of Le Havre, it is the last place one would expect a museum, but the central location of the Brise-Vent with its starkly different aesthetic will usher in an element of the unexpected for any visitor to our proposed museum.
We aim to capitalize on the modern aesthetic of the Brise-Vent in our design to transform it into a contemporaneous art museum. By blending the ‘raw, industrial’ lines, planes, volumes and shapes, we aim to transform the structure into a prominent work of art, reflective of its function. Making it not only function as an art museum but also become a part of the art itself. The maritime aesthetic of the surrounding Port and Le Havre is not lost either in its transformation. The sails are incorporated into our final design, with the iconic large letters “LE HAVRE” restored. Red features heavily in our visual composition, harking back to the maritime heritage of Le Havre and to elevate and highlight the profile of the museum.
