Building outsourced shared museum storage facilities in Dunkirk

Protect, enhance and pass on -
this mission is at the heart of the new outsourced storage facilities for the museums of the Dunkirk conurbation. Located in an environment characterized by warehousing and logistics, this conservation center meets strict preservation requirements by incorporating compact, protective architecture. Our approach is based on vertical deployment, thus freeing up the footprint and enabling the creation of well-tended landscaped areas, which form a plant filter from the Rue des Abattoirs. This design also reduces the impermeability of the site, facilitating rainwater management.

Inside, the building is structured in 6.50-metre-high volumes, providing a stable, perfectly controlled atmosphere for the collections. Each level is accessible via a longitudinal interior street that distributes the reserve spaces, technical workshops and temporary storage areas. The workshops, located in the middle of the building, allow optimized circulation of works, while the top-floor storerooms benefit from a high-performance thermal envelope. A heavy double wall incorporating an insulating mantle reduces heat exchange, ensuring the stability necessary for conservation.

Designed to evolve, the building can adapt to future changes thanks to its flexible internal organization. Non-supporting partitions between spaces can be moved to resize surfaces, and the uniform clear height of each level allows for greater modularity. What's more, a land reserve along the rue des Abattoirs offers the possibility of a future three-storey extension, in line with the prospect of increasing collections after 2030 with the opening of the new Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dunkerque.

The project is designed to be resilient and adaptable, to protect the collections while ensuring their transmission to future generations, in an environment that combines technical performance with respect for sustainability.

Project
Construction of outsourced shared museum storage facilities in Dunkirk

Location
Dunkirk, France

Tender
Public

Surface
2 487 m²

Team
Projectiles, architect (leader)
IM-PACT, BIM manager
EXECO, economist
LIGNE BE, structure
Albert & compagnie, fluids, thermal engineering, HQE
ACFI, CFO-CFA, SSI
Kadence Management, OPC
Viatec-Eco, VRD

Client
Urban Community of Dunkirk, France

Phases
2024 Competition