©2Portzamparc - Elizabeth de Portzamparc architect
©2Portzamparc - Elizabeth de Portzamparc architect

Albert Kahn Museum

France - Boulogne-Billancourt 2012
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Our ambition was to create a dialogue between the building and the collections it hosts and also with the whole place: the gardens and the linked buildings. Monolith and thought as a temple of the civilizations, it seems, at a first glance, to be opaque and mysterious, but it shows through a large transparency the hall, the library, the tea house and the engravings room, which has a device that allows to present the collections without any visual barriers to the gardens.

The building looks like it’s raised to let the gardens take place and appear to the visitors, but not entirely, so it raises their curiosity. By opening up to the city, it invites the passersby to a sensorial and meditative stroll, offering the privilege of absolute peace, the nature and change of scenery within the city.

Competition

Program

Design and construction of the new Albert Kahn Museum and rehabilitation of the site’s current buildings.

Client

Conseil Général des Hauts-de-Seine

Architect

Elizabeth de Portzamparc

Surface

4,460 sqm

©2Portzamparc – Elizabeth de Portzamparc architect