Contemporary Archives Center

Fontainebleau, France

This flagship project is emblematic of the agency’s work. 

It illustrates quite a few of our formal and functional obsessions. Yet initially the ambitions were minimal – storing 28 km of ‘dead’ archives in a box that does not require any link to the outside world. The building was actually originally intended to be temporary; in the meantime, it has become a permanent fixture. 

Placing an opaque box in such a wonderful setting is a theoretical exercise. We decided to use camouflage and optical illusion as a way of making the bulk lighter and dematerialising it. Pixelating the site produced the two green and brown shades that dominate the façades. Your perception of the colours varies according to your viewpoint, changing from green to first an iridescent and then a matt brown. It is a precipitate of the surrounding landscape.

The interior is extremely practical and inward-looking, and it becomes an architectonic space that can be crafted to your will. The physical experimentation the building’s exterior is echoed in how we handled the interiors. The outward appearance alludes to the art of movement, whereas the interior immerses us in a monochrome world of magenta.

Program 
Addition to Centre of Contemporary Archives

Location 
Contemporary Archives Center
Fontainebleau, France

Schedule
Delivery: 2007

Client
Ministry of Culture + SNT

Project management
Lead architect: Hamonic+Masson & Associés

Engineering
All trades and quantity surveyor: Berim

Photographer
Xavier Testelin + Hervé Abbadie

Cost
4,5 M€ excl. tax.

Floor Area
5 880 m²