The Musée des Tissus et des arts décoratifs is located in the historic Ainay district of Lyon. Two private Hôtel particuliers surrounded by gardens initially defined its site. Over the years, the successive addition of buildings and new functions left a heterogeneous and impractical ensemble for both the museum and its visitors.
Christ & Gantenbein’s proposal, part of an international, invited competition, was developed together with Eric Lapierre and highlights the museum’s rich past and focuses on new paths to experience the museum and its new uses. This visitors’ movement translates into a veil of translucent glass bricks linking the two original private mansions and delimiting the museum’s new functions. Like a curtain, this surface undulates between the courtyards and gardens to accompany the visitor’s journey and provide natural light following the sun’s path.
Guided by the desire to propel the Musée des Tissus et des arts décoratifs into the 21st century and open it to the public, several new features are introduced: Modular exhibition spaces, research areas, classrooms, a library, an auditorium, restaurants, and shops are connected, visible, and accessible. Simultaneously, these diverse functions can be operated independently and autonomously, giving the Musée des Tissus flexibility for the present and the future.
Developed in collaboration with Juri Steiner and Partners, the museography and scenography propose a new image for the museum. The public is invited to experience the history of fabrics in a mix of contemplation and playful interaction with the exhibited pieces. Oscillating between sophistication and simplicity, the highly unique museography and scenography borrow from references of the world of fabrics, fashion, and industry in Lyon.
A permanent art installation by the artist Christoph Hefti is integrated with the museum’s architecture: A subtle and elaborated tiled floor, arranged in different tonalities and soft shades, links several parts in dramatic movements, like a vast carpet that has not been placed yet. That gesture symbolizes the openness that the new museum provides towards the complexity of the world of fabric.
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LOCATION
Lyon, France
CLIENT
Région Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, France
YEAR
2020
STATUS
Project
PROGRAM
Culture, Museum, Transformation
SIZE
10,298 m²
TEAM
Emanuel Christ, Christoph Gantenbein; Anna Flückiger, Moisés García, Victoria Easton; Angela De Azevedo Charters, Arthur Clauss, Jonas Løland, Quentin Dauvergne
COLLABORATION
Eric Lapierre Experience, Agence Pierre-Yves Caillault ACMH, Christoph Hefti, Juri Steiner & Partenaires
PLANNING
Bolliger-Grohmann, INEX, Vogt, Peutz
