Announced annually at UNESCO in Paris, the Prix Versailles honors architectural excellence in a variety of cultural venues. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the prize includes a World’s Most Beautiful Museums—and its recently unveiled list includes seven new, or newly reopened, institutions around the world. All are visually outstanding, and reflect their local heritage in unique, innovative ways. They are competing for three prizes, with the winners to be revealed this November: the Prix Versailles itself, and awards for the best interior and exterior. Here’s a rundown of the contenders–which ones get your vote?
1. A4 Art Museum, Chengdu, China
You might do a double-take when you first see the A4 Art Museum. Chengdu is one of China’s most populated cities, but the museum’s location—the suburban district of Luxetown—was modeled upon a hillside commune in Tuscany, complete with a church and country club. The museum building, which sits on one side of a Florentine-style piazza, has been remodeled by Tektonn Architects (founded in Paris, but now based in Chengdu) in ingenious fashion: from the outside, it maintains its quasi-medieval proportions, but is subtly updated with a geometric corner facade and tall, thin windows. Inside, it’s even more surprising. Three floors above ground are open, welcoming spaces in keeping with the adjacent piazza, while two below house beautifully minimalist exhibition galleries. The perfect fusion of old and new, easily making it onto the list of the world’s most beautiful museums.
2. Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza, Egypt
Having the three Great Pyramids of Giza next door to your museum must be intimidating for any architect. Accordingly, it’s no surprise that it took Dublin studio Heneghan Peng Architects 20 years to complete the Grand Egyptian Museum, which is scheduled to open later this year and will house over 100,000 pharaonic artifacts from Ancient Egypt. The architects’ design riffs on the austere geometry of the pyramids, with its sharply intersecting limestone planes and triangular gardens. Inside, the colossal entrance atrium wows visitors—plus, perforations in its walls and ceiling allowing sunlight to illuminate a huge statue of Ramses II (known himself to be one of Ancient Egypt’s most ambitious builders). Ascend the grand staircase and you’ll be treated to peerless views of the Giza Plateau and the pyramids beyond.
