The New MNIR competition

The National Museum of Romanian History in Bucharest has set out to reassert itself as a contemporary museum of history, by revaluing its building and its relations with the urban context, by better displaying its collections, and by a higher quality of the cultural services it offers to the public. Therefore, the National Museum of Romanian History is launching an international design competition, organized by the Chamber of Architects in Romania under the auspices of the International Union of Architects, with the great support of the Romanian Ministry of Culture.

The purpose of this competition is to select the best spatial and museographic concept for the New MNIR, suitable for the most representative museum at the national scale, and meaningful at the European level. The winner shall be awarded a mandate to develop the restoration plan for the building, redesign its spaces and flows, and display the museum collections in an attractive and innovative manner.

The scope of the competition is intently related to the forthcoming Centenary of the Romanian “Great Union” (1^st December 1918-2018), which brought together all the historical provinces to build the nation state of today, in the wake of World War One. Under this circumstance, the New MNIR competition heralds a large series of events dedicated to the national Centennial. Hence, the competition process, its expected results, and the inauguration of the construction works, will all represent symbolic gestures and promises for the future.

Therefore, the winning project is expected to lead the way to a refined architectural intervention, which will support the presentation of the national history and make the historical narratives attractive to the 21^st century large public, while preparing an old historic monument (the Palace of the Post) for its second century of existence.

The jury is composed of 7 full-members and 2 deputy members.

The prizes are awarded as follows:

1st Prize: 30.000 €

2nd Prize: 20.000 €

3rd Prize: 10.000 €