Location: Lyons, France.

Architect: Coop Himmelb(l)au.

The 2001 international competition for a natural history museum in Lyon was envisioned as a “medium for the transfer of knowledge” and not as a showroom for products. The building ground of the museum is located on a peninsula that was artificially extended 100 years ago and situated in the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers. To create an iconic gateway, a complex new form had to be developed as an iconic gateway. The entrance building, the Crystal, is openly traversable and has vertical access to the exhibition spaces. The Espace liant, a connecting path, can be reached by an escalator, a staircase, and a spiral ramp.

The museum’s entrance building is a steel structure with a drop-shaped construction as a supporting structure. The foyer (Crystal) is a naturally ventilated space with a tubular lattice with a rectangular profile of 400 x 200 mm as the primary support. The facades of the exhibition area (Cloud) are characterized by an efficient building shell and the water supply of the sanitation areas is provided through the groundwater. A photovoltaic system is installed on the roof. The secondary support structure carries the large glass panels and is connected to the primary support structure via struts made of tubes.

Blinds between the primary and secondary supporting structures protect the most sun-exposed areas and reduce noise. The glass consists of single-glazed panels with extra-clear glass, and a large amount of glazed, openable windows provide natural ventilation. The four different entry sequences consist of large glass doors. The outer skin of the Cloud consists of 3-mm stainless steel plates blasted with glass beads, which reflect the light and colours of the surrounding area.