The jury were unanimous in giving first place to this cultural venue in Arles, where a 15th-century structure forms a graceful whole with its modern incarnation.
The idea was to produce a striking architectural effect that would nonetheless be pitch-perfect for its neighbourhood, a Unesco World Heritage site. This is the 2400m2 building's third life. What began as a 15th-century mansion was converted to Banque de France premises in 1924 and has now been entirely redesigned once more to house the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles. The Arlesian light that the painter so loved is the guiding theme in the design by architects Guillaume Avenard and Hervé Schneider of the Fluor studio (Strasbourg and Avignon). Art historian Bice Curiger also called in artists Bertrand Lavier and Raphael Hefti to create the permanent installations that echo Van Gogh works here and there around the exhibition space. The exhibition tour is organised as a loop, with visitors moving fluidly from room to room (big hall, atrium and former office and apartments of the director of the Banque de France – 1000m² in all) and floor to floor without crossing their own tracks. The top floor terrace offers a panoramic view over the roofs of Arles, the Rhône and the Abbaye de Montmajour that Van Gogh so loved.
By Louis Badie
Côteweb 2021, création de site Internet sur Nice