coop himmelb(l)au presents new images of musée des confluences in lyon

coop himmelb(l)au presents new images of musée des confluences in lyon
image © sergio pirrone

austrian architectural studio coop himmelb(l)au has released further images of the musée des confluences, a project they completed at the turn of the year. the new photographs, taken by sergio pirrone, detail the scheme’s vast interior as well as its distinctively sculpted façade. read on for more images and information on the museum.

image © sergio pirrone

standing at the centerpiece of lyon’s ongoing regeneration project, the themes of contrast and divergence are characterized in the museum’s architecture, fusing together separate entities to form a new dynamic structure. the vast scheme, which integrates the fields of technology, biology and ethics, serves as both a museum and an urban leisure space, forming an active and lively place of public congregation.

image © sergio pirrone

the design features three primary components, ‘the plinth’, ‘the crystal’ and ‘the cloud’. situated beneath the main entrance of the museum, ‘the plinth’ houses auditoriums, meeting rooms and technical areas. above, the fully glazed ‘crystal’ is oriented towards the town, welcoming visitors and serving as an inviting public space. within this area, large panes of glass are mounted within steel frames, flooding internal space with daylight. contrasting the precise contours of ‘the crystal’, ‘the cloud’ has been constructed to resemble a spaceship stationed above the building.

image © sergio pirrone

programmed across three levels, three permanent and seven temporary exhibition galleries are connected with a fluid circulation route. the configuration of the exhibition halls further establishes the themes of variance and complexity, with enclosed black boxes alternating with open gallery areas. externally, ramps and pathways link the structure with an adjacent park, forming an integrated public square.

see designboom’s previous coverage of the project here.

image © sergio pirrone

image © sergio pirrone

image © sergio pirrone

image © sergio pirrone

image © sergio pirrone

image © sergio pirrone

image © sergio pirrone

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