cantilevering red belvedere adorns new parking complex in chambéry, france

the project was led by hérault arnod architectures jointly with artist krijn de koning who helped sculpt the viewing structure.

lea zeitoun February 12, 2023 4 min

unveiling the Qpark Ravet in Chambéry’s historical center

Set as a curving and translucent volume in the historic center of Chambéry, France, the QPark Ravet is a new 499-space parking complex designed by Hérault Arnod Architectes, jointly with artist Krijn de Koning. The street, built in the first half of the 19th century and lined with arcades, leads to the Dukes of Savoy castle, a 12th-century landmark, passing by the famous Elephant Fountain. Opposite the castle, the perspective of the street converges on Q-Park Ravet, framing a scenic mountain backdrop.

Considering the historical context, the architects sought to balance out the purely utilitarian quality of Ravet by featuring a sculptural red belvedere on the street-castle axis. This unique volume was imagined in collaboration with the artist.

cantilevering red belvedere adorns new parking complex in chambéry, france - 1 — all images © Cyrille Weiner

a translucent volume with soft outlines

The team at Hérault Arnod Architectes organized the QPark Ravet in a triangle, with rounded corners that minimize the mass effect and create sleek and vanishing lines to make the building appear smaller than it is. These curves at the end of the triangle also correspond with the neighboring buildings’ rounded edges — further blending the new structure into its context.

Complementing that ‘softening’ effect is a translucent façade boasting a U-shaped metal profile that wraps around the building from street level to the top floor. Between these metallic sections, glass strips mask the interior in a show-and-tell pattern, visible inside and outside the garage complex.

cantilevering red belvedere adorns new parking complex in chambéry, france - 2

‘The façades are 50% empty, so the car park is considered exempt from fire regulations, and they are clad in vertical glass strips placed at 45° (60% recycled glass and enameled to be opalescent). The empty gaps create a variety of additional views of the city. By day, the functionality of the building is on full display. By night, perceptions change thanks to indoor lighting that softly etches the urban landscape,’ explains the practice.

The interior of the triangular patio is a garden planted with undergrowth vegetation – ferns, periwinkles, maples, hydrangeas, and more. The facing south terrace features Mediterranean-type vegetation with umbrella pines, fig trees, lavender, and grasses.

cantilevering red belvedere adorns new parking complex in chambéry, france - 3 — the cantilevering belvedere was designed jointly with artist Krijn de Koning

the belvedere, a sculptural piece offering scenic vistas

While Hérault Arnod Architectures established the functional layer, artist Krijn de Koning stepped in to devise a sculptural facet of QPark Ravet. Attached to the main building, the strikingly red and cantilevering belvedere lends a public and urban dimension to the building, enabling a new way to embrace the city. It can be accessed via an external staircase on the second floor without going through the parking garage. From above, pointing to the Rue de Boigne, it offers a majestic panorama of the urban landscape, the river, the castle, and the Alps.

‘Descending the belvedere staircase puts you on the axis of the street, and it is framed at mid-height to highlight a unique perspective of the historic city. In the other direction, the street perspective ends with the mountain background and the curved, translucent volumes combination of the car park and the sculptural belvedere that leans against it in the axis of the city street. The architectural gesture is based on the complementarity between the curved, minimal, and translucent car park façades and the sculptural sky bar, orthogonal and colored. This assembly of the car park and the belvedere gives the building its unique identity. It was in line with this idea that the collaboration with Krijn de Koning was established,’ concludes the practice.

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