MUSAC
Luis Moreno Mansilla; Emilio Tuñón · León, Spain · 2005
MUSAC uses a field of repeated spaces to give contemporary art a flexible setting. Designed by Mansilla + Tuñón and opened in León in 2005, the museum combines low, interconnected volumes with courtyards and a distinctive multicoloured glazed frontage. The façade's palette takes inspiration from a stained-glass image in León Cathedral, connecting the new institution to the city's older cultural landscape without copying historic forms. Inside, the network of rooms permits different exhibition routes rather than a single prescribed sequence. The relationship between the public forecourt and colourful entrance is particularly revealing. Visiting: Exhibitions normally require admission, with free periods and exemptions.