The architectural concept favors an approach based on transparency and concealment. The architectural gestures are inscribed in the development of parallel and converging lines recalling the configuration of the site and its functional characteristics. The administrative space emerges from the site and opens onto both the old building and the exceptional landscape of the valley. The project emerges from the topography of the site; it is set in the ground accompanying the existing slope. The interpretative expression of the traditional geometry linking the industrial buildings as well as the symmetry suggested by the 1921 building guided us. The new building, in its visible part, houses the administration and the documentation center. The two-level passageway connects the public areas (all located inside the 1921 building) to a semi-private area (administration, documentation). The storage and work areas directly related to the treatment of artifacts and exhibitions (security) are located at the base of the building. The museological promenade will lead the visitor from the interpretation sector to the exhibition sector, with a peripheral route that is largely open to the outside. The visitor can choose a route that will take him to the first floor, passing successively from the reception area to the interpretation area, after which he will be able to opt for a visit to the first exhibition, from which he will emerge to appreciate the building, its regional materials (pink granite) and its elaborate fenestration, up to the firewall that he will cross to access the Villeneuve space, which he will also be able to contemplate from the mezzanine, before continuing to the second exhibition room.
(From specialized magazine)
(Unofficial automated translation)
The jury appreciated the clarity of the concept of this proposal. The distribution of the functional groups, the simplicity of the circulation, the respect and enhancement of the different components of the 1921 building are all factors that make this proposal the most faithful response to the needs formulated by the architectural program. The location of the new construction, set back from the façade of the 1921 building, preserves its status as the main building while proudly and adequately displaying a new presence on the site. The proposed location of the exhibition rooms will allow for the development of continuity between the content of the existing thematic exhibition and that of the Museum's exhibitions, while greatly reducing the technical problems related to their climatic treatment.
The jury had reservations about the construction of a new mezzanine for the multipurpose room, which would alter the volumetry of the nave at the entrance. The jury considered this project to be the one that could best adapt to user needs and budget constraints without diluting the strength of its concept.
(From specialized magazine)
(Unofficial automated translation)
