Atelier des Beaux-Arts Glacière Exhibition Showcase / Bien Urbain – atelier d’architecture + Fayolle Pilon architectes associés

Text description provided by the architects. The project is located along a busy street in the 13th arrondissement connecting the metro to Parc Montsouris, on a 17 m² plot with a 4.80 m opening onto the street and characterized by large overhanging neighboring walls. The atypical program, the annex of the Atelier des Beaux-Arts Glacière offers exhibition space for various works in their modes of expression as well as in their formats (drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, etc.).

Considered “a showcase on the street”, this small building is part of a more global approach through the “Aire de Rien” initiative, initiated by the City of Paris, which aims to enhance abandoned spaces. It was thus produced in co-design with the District Council and local residents.

The project is formalized as an abstract object that slips between two adjoining walls without touching them, creating an appeal from the street via an overhanging roof forming both a cap and a sunshade. The project also reveals the transparency of the street toward a garden located at the back of the building.

As the place is not intended to welcome visitors, the choice was made to bring the works to the spectators via a system of removable picture rails, easy to use, installable at two reference depths which respond both to an optimal angle of incidence for artificial lighting and a comfortable distance to the work from the street.

The maximum glazed surfaces allow you to fully enjoy the work. Above and below these walls are installed two concrete slabs defining the general footprint of the building. These slabs constitute the floor and the roof of the annex, directing the viewer toward the works. On the ground, the space of the work is delimited by a slight recess.

To reinforce the identity of this structure, work on the pattern, texture, and color of the concrete is carried out. This is cast in place with the insertion of a mold at the bottom of the formwork in order to give the edges of the roof on the street and on the courtyard a pattern of regular undulations. The roof of the building constitutes the third facade of this building, treated in a qualitative way with the installation of a complex allowing an extensive greening.