Description

At the southern tip of a peninsula in Lyon, where the Rhône and the Saône flow together, a structure has landed that bears little relation to a museum. It simply stands there like an intriguing sculpture. Lyon, the second largest city of the country, finally has its signature landmark of modernity. The building cost some 270 million euros, much more than the figure announced at the start of planning in 2001, which was closer to 60 million. The Musée des Confluences, with a programme that ranges from the origins of the universe to the history of mankind by way of animal and plant history, arose out of the old Guimet natural history museum in Lyon. Its new name, “Musée des Confluences”, reflects its location at the confluence of the two rivers while also acting as a metaphor: the new museum brings together everything one would like to know about the history of our origins.

The exhibition rooms on the two upper floors, with a total area of 4800 m², are completely sealed off in different-sized black boxes. Considerable effort has gone into not just arranging the exhibits of the four thematic areas but also weaving them into a narrative with elaborate lighting effects and moving images. Rooms for changing exhibitions are on the first floor, with further exhibition areas on the second floor. Above them are the museum offices and a café.

The circulation spaces on the two upper floors are entirely disconnected from the outside world and are little more than sober, utilitarian conduits. The overriding theme of the museum is its architectural form, the meeting of two distinctly different parts: the larger of the two is called, in typical Himmelb(l)au parlance, “the cloud” while the hall in front of it is called the “crystal”. Both stand on a pedestal of exposed concrete with the cloud rising up and away from the ground. The open area beneath serves as an outdoor place with two pools of water and a glazed brasserie. This open area also affords free passage to the narrow and elegant tip of the peninsula, which will have a landing jetty for boats. The cloud is clad with silvery aluminium panels and, despite its complex form, is pleasingly homogenous: not only the panels, but also the flush windows and ventilation grilles have been cleanly incorporated to form a faceted, sculptural whole. In grey weather, however, the silvery-grey cloud is barely distinguishable from its surroundings.

The second building volume, the crystal, contains the entrance hall and is a veritable firework of steel and glass, elaborately constructed, sometimes implausibly, into a complex whole. The impression is both dazzling and dizzying. From the glazed hall one has views outside … of the new buildings on the former industrial and harbour area, of the city in the distance and most prominently of the motorway bridge passing by.

For the purpose it fulfils, the entrance hall is gigantic, rising to a height of 33 metres. It is a huge volume containing little more than the ticket counter. The architects have let their imagination run wild, per the client’s request. Along with the desired urban landmark, the client received a building that is wilfully overblown, both physically and metaphorically. The crowning gag of the entrance hall is the spectacular funnel in the glass roof. The steel profiles of the roof bend downwards, along with the glazing, almost to the floor in a highly unusual, dramatic construction before arcing back upwards preventing it from reaching the ground. Rainwater, however, does not flow into the funnel and is channelled away by a glass cover into gutters concealed behind a ring beam around the funnel.

Originally published in Bauwelt 04.2015, pp. 28-33, abridged and edited for Building Types online, translated by Julian Reisenberger

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