Nantes, the sixth largest city in France, is home to the refurbished and extended Musée d’Arts, by Stanton Williams Architects.

The major renovation and extension of the 19th century Palais des Beaux-Arts has created more than 17,000m2 of floor space - including a new building dedicated to contemporary art - to display the Museum's impressive collection and host prestigious exhibitions.

Max Fordham provided M&E engineering services, as well as sustainability consultancy. One of the principal aims of the renovation was to improve the gallery environment, both for visitors and the conservation of art. We did this by adding air conditioning, controlling daylight levels, and reducing noise levels. We met and exceeded the brief for the energy and environmental performance of the project, assessed against the French HQE system which is analogous to BREEAM in the UK.

We also designed both gallery and architectural lighting schemes across the site, and acoustic design to manage sound without impacting the design intent of the architect. 

Musée d’Arts de Nantes won a 2018 RIBA Award for International Excellence, and the Daylight Project of the Year at the 2018 Lighting Design Awards.