The fonds régional d’art contemporain des Pays de la Loire - A new building - Collection- Ateliers - Mediation
The starting point of the project was the decision to concentrate on the developement of an efficient work tool which would take into account the economic demands of the present day situation, refusing all ostentatious architectural statements. The result is an elegantly simple and pure volume broken by a glass line which passes across the top of the building. The architecture displays the dual nature of these premises: to conserve the collection and to welcome the public. The ground area of the building is restricted, so as not to perturbe the proportions of the clearing. Apparantly gently posed on this large meadow, the building plays on the colour relationship of the green grass with the resin-coated wood of the exterior surfaces, each of which reveals the function of the interior spaces. To the north, a large suspended brute concrete canopy protects the glassed walls of the reception area. The Atelier van Lieshout has constructed the furniture in wood whose brutalist appearance contrasts with the sober classicism of the space. The visitor is welcomed in this space, and has access to exhibition documentation, internet, cloakrooms, a coffee machine, etc. .
In addition to the reception, the ground floor contains 420m2 of exhibition space, created to international museum standards with controlled natural lighting, a conference room and a documentation center. The first floor is taken up by adminstrative offices. The basement is devoted to the conservation and restoration of artworks. The 600m2 of storage, easily accessible, fully equipped and climatically controlled, allow a rational management of the collection according to distinct sections (painting, sculpture, works on paper, video). The Frac also has a restoration workshop which is destined to become a preventative conservation resource centre.