‘the platine’ building part of cite du design image courtesy LIN finn geipel + giulia andi, all photos by jan-oliver kunze

‘cite du design’ by LIN architects was recently inaugurated in loire, france. the project situated on the historic site of the national arms manufacture in saint etienne involved the renovation of several historic buildings, as well as the integration of a new building the ‘platine’, an observation tower, two gardens and the place d’armes, a public esplanade.

the ‘platine’ is an interclimatic laboratory whose adaptive skin is enveloping several programs as an exhibition spaces, an auditorium, the ‘agora’, a greenhouse and a media and material library.

LIN architects: cite du design ‘the platine’ building part of cite du design

LIN architects: cite du design view from the southern garden

LIN architects: cite du design cite du design

LIN architects: cite du design ‘the platine’ at night

LIN architects: cite du design ‘the platine’ at night

LIN architects: cite du design ‘the platine’ at night

LIN architects: cite du design ‘the platine’ at night

project info and credits site: saint-etienne, loire, france client: saint-etienne metropole team: architects: LIN finn geipel + giulia andi, berlin/paris with: philip könig, stefan jeske (project managers), jan-oliver kunze, judith stichtenoth, francois maisonnasse, muriel poncet, marielle gilibert, heiko walth; assistants to the execution of construction: benjamin wallerand, lyon, maurice guitton, lyon; local architect: dominique berger, cabinet berger, saint-etienne; structure : werner sobek + thomas winterstetter, WSI, stuttgart/new york; engineering: fréderique binvignat + christian desquiens, BETOM ingénierie, corbas; climate engineering: matthias schuler + arnaud billard, transsolar, stuttgart/new york; economy: pierre dumond + alain baland, cyprium, lyon; acoustics: richard denayrou + emily morin, altia acoustique, paris; scenography: gérard fleury , architecture & technique, paris; lighting: andy sedgwick + jeff shaw, ove arup, london; landscape architecture: clément willemin + frank poirier, BASE, paris; communication design: andreas schneider, IIDj, tokyo; philosophy: joseph hanimann, paris surface net: 21 140m² dates: competition march to june 2004, realisation 2006 to 2009 costs: 41.5 million euro