Hauser & Wirth Menorca

Hauser & Wirth Menorca is an art center combining art, education and conservation in the natural setting of Illa del Rei, an island in Mahon harbor. The art center presents an exhibition program spanning ambitious new commissions by gallery artists across all media. Following a conservation project, Hauser & Wirth sensitively repurposed the existing 18th-century outbuildings of a naval hospital to create the 1,500 sq.m art center, which has welcomed over 330,000 visitors since it opened in 2021.

The exhibition space comprises eight galleries and an outdoor sculpture trail, which has featured works by Louise Bourgeois, Paul McCarthy, Martin Creed, Eduardo Chillida and Pipilotti Rist, among others. A garden by the acclaimed landscape designer Piet Oudolf runs alongside the gallery buildings, incorporating native perennials and plants suited to the Mediterranean climate. Adjacent to the gallery is Cantina, a lively eatery focusing on local produce. The outdoor restaurant offers a menu which pays homage to Menorcan cuisine, to be enjoyed under the shade of an live-tree forest. The gallery shop is found in the same building as Cantina, presenting art publications and crafts by local makers.

Sustainability

Menorca is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and, in the interest of protecting the unique natural environment of its location, Hauser & Wirth’s sustainability practices on the island encompass the conservation project, daily operations as well as meaningful partnerships. This ethos has granted us recognitions such as the Plastic Free Menorca certificate and the Menorca Biosphere Reserve trademark, which recognizes companies which support the local environment, identity and culture.

The conservation project was conducted with the utmost care and included sustainability measures such as rain-water collection protocols to ground irrigation and efficient climate control for the buildings, among others. Additionally, grooves were left across the building to provide shelter to the native species of lizard, ‘Podarcis lilfordi Balearica.’

Illa del Rei has a self-consumption photovoltaic installation to generate a significant portion of energy in a renewable way. The system includes a total of 174 solar panels with a combined peak power of 102.66 kWp and three inverters— one 50 kW unit and two 20 kW units.

The installation has been partially financed through the Investment Plan for the Energy Transition of the Balearic Islands (PITEIB for SMEs), with support from the European Union, receiving a total of €53,519.98 from these funds.