WINNER OF A 2022 CANADIAN ARCHITECT AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
?Simplicity, harmony and beauty. A rich diversity of spaces?both for the public and for art?are woven amongst a fabric of existing buildings. The museum neither overwhelms the context, nor does it defer to it, but creates a new world of occupation in the neighbourhood. The reuse of the existing fabric buildings is economical, sustainable and creates a rich juxtaposition for the modern intervention.? ? Betsy Williamson, juror 
The design weaves indoor and outdoor spaces in and around a series of historic buildings, creating spaces that invite artistic installations and interventions.
In 2021, Montreal?s multidisciplinary contemporary arts hub PHI launched an international competition for the design of PHI Contemporary, its new home. Located in the Old Montreal historic district, the site comprises four heritage buildings?most conspicuously Maison Louis-Viger (c. 1765) and Maison Du Calvet (c. 1770)?and a vacant lot. The winning design, by Berlin-based Kuehn Malvezzi and Montreal-based firms Pelletier de Fontenay and Jodoin Lamarre Pratte architectes, integrates old and new, indoors and out, with an emphasis on giving artists open, unencumbered space to bounce their ideas off of, and making the results readily accessible to the public. ?Instead of proposing a new building, we are proposing a new infrastructure, where a variety of events can take place,? the design team states. ?Artists need to take possession of all the...