PROJECT 2 037


PROJECT INFO Client


Musée national de la Marine


Lead exhibition designer and artistic director Casson Mann cassonmann.com


Architects h2o


h2oarchitectes.com Snøhetta


snohetta.com


Project size 2,500 sq m


Completion November 2023


Project cost €71.2m


“landmarks”, sculptural elements that really exploited the scale of the space, each introducing a theme.’


Visitors walking through this incredible space are guided by the four landmark themes each revealing itself and you progress through: Coque de Bateau (a general introduction to all the themes of the museum); Shipping containers (Consumerism); The Wave (Shipwrecks and Storms); and the finally La Réale (Naval Power). ‘Sometimes these landmarks act as vistas drawing you along and other times are revealed as a surprise depending on how you approach it,’ says Mann. ‘The Coque de Bateau [ship’s hull] is almost full height but hidden until the last moment. The containers are a vista moment; you’re aware of them but the full scale and what they contain is a surprise. The Wave is high but is revealed as you exit the navigation space, and the final assemblage of the large, gilded figures and panels from La Réale sit as a spectacular culmination at the end of the space.’ On the lower ground level, visitors enjoy the unique treasures from the extensive national collection, such as the spectacular, gilded ornamentation from La Réale, built for Louis XIV, and oil paintings by Joseph Vernet. Made up of two spaces, thematic displays feature stories of human endeavour – commerce, sport, leisure, travel, war, peace, fear, loss and survival – subjects intensified by life at sea. The collections include navigation devices, ship models, paintings and sculptures. ‘To engage new audiences, children and young people, the Vernet paintings are hung quite low, at eye level with the horizon line, to immerse visitors in the scene and invite


examination of the extraordinary detail’, says Rabat. ‘The long, curved gallery tells the story of France as a naval power and takes advantage of the original architecture. The proximity that visitors have to the objects, cases and paintings is surprising, reinforcing the relationship between the visitor and object, encouraging the discovery of details. For example, you can walk around the ‘360-degree’ cases (island cases), seeing objects and models from all angles.’ The collection of ship models is displayed chronologically through the centre of the space and is interspersed by arches. Designed to engage young and old, the scheme includes audio-visual and interactive media, tactile models and original interactives that invite


Above The museum takes visitors on a journey celebrating the power and drama of the sea


Below The design incorporates sculptural ‘landmarks’ that exploit the space and each evoking a specific theme


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