Musée des Confluences Lyon, Building, Architect, French Architecture, News
Musée des Confluences, Lyon
Building in southern France – design by COOP HIMMELB(L)AU, architects
page updated 7 Jan 2017 with new photos ; 6 Mar 2015
Musée des Confluences, Lyon, France
Design: COOP HIMMELB(L)AU
Musée des Confluences in Lyon
Right from the 2001 international competition for a natural history museum in Lyon, the museum was envisioned as a ?medium for the transfer of knowledge? and not as a showroom for products.

The building ground of the museum is located on a peninsula that was artificially extended 100 years ago and situated in the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. Even though it was apparent that this site would be a difficult one (536-metre-long piles had to be securely driven into the ground), it was clear that this location would be very important for the urban design. The building should serve as a distinctive beacon and entrance for the visitors approaching from the South, as well as a starting point for urban development.
In order to build a museum of knowledge, a complex new form had to be developed as an iconic gateway. A building that truly stands out can only come into being through shapes resulting from new geometries. It was important to the concept that the flow of visitors arriving from the city to the Pointe du Confluent should not be impeded by a building. The idea was therefore to develop an openly traversable building that would be floating...