The forecourt of the cathedral housed the Beauvais Tapestry Manufactory until World War II when the workshops were destroyed. To pay tribute to this heritage, André Malraux, Minister of Culture at the time, launched the creation of the National Gallery of Tapestry which was inaugurated in 1976.

This unique building in 20th century architecture, designed by architect André Hermant, was conceived as a succession of boxes to look at and stands as an "anti-monument" opposite the cathedral. The choice of a horizontal architecture magnifies the extraordinary verticality of the cathedral and highlights the remains of the Gallo-Roman walls inside which it was built. When it became the property of the city of Beauvais in 2013, its artistic and cultural program envolved to include all visual arts and the place was renamed "Le Quadrilatère".

From an architectural point of view, contemporary interventions will be carried out only when necessary, while always remaining consistent with both the elements of the restructuration project and the work of André Hermant.

Launched in 2020 by the City of Beauvais, the project to restructure the Quadrilatère aims to reveal the beauty of André Hermant's architecture and to modernise this exceptionally well-located venue so that it becomes a renowned art and architecture centre, both at national and international level. The project required the creation of new spaces and services for the visitors: lockers, sanitary facilities, a library, eating places and an educational workshop to offer a better reception of the children. To reveal the site's exceptional history, making the archeological vestiges accessible to the public was necessary.

To meet these objectives, we conceived a new museographic route with redesigned circulations, a complete upgrade to standards for the whole building to guarantee a universal accessibility, and a requalification of the reception areas. The creation of a new monumental staircase with flights of steps as well as ramps which, along with an elevator, will provide easy access to all floors. These measures promote the reorganisation of the lockers and the underground sanitary facilities and offer a reception area specific to the auditorium. To simplify the installation of the art works, a large capacity freight elevator was built-in. To allow a wide scenographic flexibility for all the temporary exhibitions, mobile picture rails were installed on existing beams by the vaults, assuring the necessary modularity to all artistic interventions. The crypt becomes accessible to the public thanks to a built-in footbridge on the exhibition path. The coffee shop/ library and the giftshop, linked around the interior patio, are located in the old demonstration workshops of the Beauvais Tapestry Manufactory.

Location
Beauvais

Project type
Redevelopment

Program
Culture

Project owner
Ville de Beauvais

Team
Chatillon Architectes

Budget
€ 6m excl. VAT

Timeline
2021-2024