Colonial history
Exhibition Pavilion near Paris by Atelier Aconcept
Exhibition Pavilion, © 11h45
In the Bois de Vincennes near Paris, Atelier Aconcept have renovated the Tunisian pavilion from France’s colonial exposition of 1907. In future, a restaurant in the pavilion will receive visitors to the park.
Atelier Aconcept have renovated the Tunisian pavilion from France’s colonial exposition of 1907. © 11h45
For more than 20 years the single-storey, historically protected structure in Nogent-sur-Marne, a city just east of Paris, stood empty. It is one of several national pavilions erected for the colonial exposition of 1907 in the Bois de Vincennes – or to be more precise, in the Garden of Tropical Agriculture, which was created in 1899 to edify Parisians concerning the botanical diversity of the French overseas colonies.
The building’s architecture combines the design language of the early 20th century with Arabic and Ottoman touches such as the small crescent moon on the central dome.
The exhibition pavilion is located in the Vincennes forest near Paris. © 11h45
Renovation and expansion
Now modernized, the building again gleams in a fresh coating of white. The architects have extended the east wing, once significantly shorter, with a build-on featuring additional sanitary spaces. A broad glazed area separates this area from the rest of the structure. Wooden grids in front of the longitudinal facades allow them to visually recede in favour of the pre-existing portions of the pavilion.
For more than 20 years the single-storey, historically protected structure stood empty. © 11h45
Restaurant and dining room
Guests enter through a small porch in the central, domed space, which is now home to the self-serve counter of the restaurant. A dining room joins this area in the west wing, while the kitchen and offices are accommodated in the south wing and the north wing houses a multimedia room. In the technical areas and ancillary spaces, an ornamental print graces the windowpanes. This print takes up the motif of the decorative ceramic frieze that has been added above the exterior lintels of the doors and windows.
Architecture: Atelier Aconcept
Client: CIRAD
Location: Jardin d'agronomie tropicale, 45 bis Av. de la Belle Gabrielle, 94130 Nogent-sur-Marne (FR)
Structural engineering: Lamalle
Building services engineering: LBei
Gallery
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