Museum of Contemporary Art in Lyon

Brief information

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Lyon lives inside the former Lyon Fair Palace. This is more important than a simple address: contemporary art here is housed not in a neutral box, but in a building that was originally intended for public events of a different kind. The Fair Palace was built by Charles Meysson, and Renzo Piano reconstructed it for museum life.

The museum appeared in 1984 as part of the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon, and moved into its current building in 1995. Just a year later, the building hosted events of the G7 summit. Because of this, it reads not only as a place for exhibitions: the same shell has managed to be a fair venue, a museum, and a site of international politics.

What to notice right away

It makes sense to look at the building as a converted space, rather than as a museum invented entirely from scratch. The first detail is its very connection with the former Fair Palace: the function changed, but the scale of a public building remained part of the perception. The second is Renzo Piano’s reconstruction, which explains why the old structure is adapted for contemporary art rather than simply occupied by a collection.

You can compare the two side entrances and the exhibition area of 2,700 m². These facts show the museum’s arrangement through movement and volume: the entrances are distributed along the sides, while inside there is a large exhibition space. In this way, the building reveals itself as a former venue for mass events, where contemporary art occupied an already existing urban infrastructure.