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Awards
Grand Jury Special Prize Trophées du Cadre de Vie – 2018 Fimbacte Festival
Regional Grand Prize 2017 Pyramides d’argent
Golden Trophy “Best real estate operation” SIATI 2016
Jury’s Prize, 2018 SIMI Grand Prize
At the heart of the Lyon town centre, the Hôtel-Dieu makes its reappearance in the wake of its 2010 closure after operating for eight centuries. It shut down because it didn’t meet current healthcare requirements. The building’s reconversion sought to achieve continuity as well as showcase the historicity of this overlooked heritage by drawing from its intrinsic qualities. The architects aimed to truly grasp its potential in order to develop the new programme. They didn’t want to impose a new purpose on the pre-existing. This empirical and agile approach focussed on an anatomic analysis of the structure in order to create the framework for a relevant rehabilitation via the addition of “smart transplants”, that are a testament to the evolution of the building since the XIIth century. Today, this requalification enables the rediscovery of a powerful historical urban landmark, whose qualities had faded away after five decades of forced adaptation to modern medicine. The office and business spaces, as well as the interior courtyards developed in 2018 are ideal for a first encounter with this porous monolith, which remains open and diverse to this day. Engaging with history requires a certain knowledge and interpretation of the main conception periods which have left a mark on this built heritage. The three main architectural ensembles date back to the XVIIth, XVIIIth, and XIXth centuries. In collaboration with Didier Repellin, head architect for historical monuments, the architects Albert Constantin and Claire Bertrand (AIA Life Designers) carried out a comprehensive research based on historical documents, engravings, photographs and texts. They were able to retrace the original intentions of the Hôtel-Dieu’s iconic architects: Jean and Ferdinand Delamonce, Antoine Picquet, César Laure, Jacques-Germain Soufflot, Paul Pascalon, and Jean-Gabriel Mortamet. Thus, they were able to combine their vision with the current project in order to achieve a common movement. Today, the Grand Hôtel-Dieu communicates with the city thanks to its long galleries and 8 entrances, 7 of which are public. In the past, the building was accessible via a sole entry point. Its courtyards and gardens, which used to be invaded by cars, were returned to their original use and transformed into places of relaxation, with apothecary plants, in the spirit of the great tradition of Lyon’s botanists. The public spaces, protected and easily appropriated, offer new ways to roam in the city. The Grand Hôtel-Dieu, which has been designated historic monument in 2010, indeed acts as an urban filter at the crossroads of the grandiose landscape of the river Rhône and the tightly knit urban fabric of the peninsula. The interplay between interior and exterior spaces, its outdoor rooms, the three historic domes, its arcades and multiple entrances all play a part in making it a vehicle of innovative city life: one that is result of architecture and whose goal is to connect with the city.
A new programme revolving around the 3 historic domes:
the Grand Dôme de Soufflot, transformed into a hotel;
the Dôme des Quatres Rangs will become the international City of Gastronomy;
the Dôme Pascalon will host offices and businesses.
Client
Eiffage Immobilier in cooperation with Generim
Main Contractors
Architect: AIA Architectes, Albert Constantin and Claire Bertrand
Historical Monuments Architect: RL&A, Didier Repellin
Consulting firm for historical monument structure and skylight: AIA Ingénierie
Consulting firm for new buildings structure: Betrec
Consulting firm new façades: Arcora
Fluids: TEM Partners
Landscaping: AIA Territoires
Programme
Average size businesses, shops and restaurants: 17,100 m²
Five star hotel, intercontinental resort of 138 rooms: 13,500 m²
Offices: 13,600 m² (new: 6,600 m², old buildings: 7,000 m²)
Convention centre: 2,900 m²
City of Gastronomy: 3,600 m²
11 housing units: 800 m²
Surface of exterior areas: 8,000 m²
Surface(s)
51,500 m² (40,000 m² of rehabilitated and reconverted buildings + 11,500 m² of new buildings)
Cost
€180M Tax-Free
Timeline
Competition: 2010
Intermediary delivery: November 2017
Public opening: 26 April 2018
Final delivery: 2019