Firm： AUM Pierre Minassian

Type： Cultural › Gallery

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2019

SIZE： 3000 sqft - 5000 sqft

BUDGET： $1M - 5M

Photos： Erick Saillet (11)

The project was born after meeting the contemporary art enthusiast who had just purchased the Chaufferie de l’Antiquaille – the concrete building designed by architect Pierre Bourdeix in the 1950s to house the boilers of the Antiquaille nursing home – a landmark in the landscape and heritage of Lyon.

Our job consisted in achieving two missions: preserving the historical value of the building while adapting it to its new functions of a multi-unit apartment building and a private art gallery.

The architecture of the art gallery draws its shape from the framework established by the original concrete beams. We wanted our work to illustrate the notion of contrast: thick steel structures have been used to create galleries, suspended spaces or furniture while the numerous mirrors integrated here and there modify the perspective of the original structure and lead to a loss of landmarks.

All the steelwork was assembled on-site, which led to very complicated manipulations and large-scale craning installations that are not usually seen in an interior design project.

The result is a stunning experience; the artworks seem to come to life in an environment that was specifically designed for them. The sculptures of Anne Bothuon seem to float in zero-gravity and the primitive art pieces stand out in this very contemporary environment.