Art and Architecture – a Different Approach

Our friend Reid, who has commented occasionally on the blog, sent us a picture the other day of an interesting new building in Lyon. It is located on the Saône River in an industrial part of town that is currently being redeveloped, so it is not an area that previously held much appeal for us. But the building was certainly striking in its design, and painted bright orange. We decided therefore to go take a look.



What we found was an illustration of the French approach to art [architecture rightly being considered an art form]. Not only did we get a personal look at the building in Reid’s picture, we also observed that many of the buildings in the redevelopment area were of a highly original design. And, as you will see, they were across the river from an older area, somewhat depressed, but with older buildings in what we Americans would consider typical western European architecture. Most Americans probably consider that the US is much more open to change and evolution than Europe, France in particular. Yet, here was a project incorporating daring designs and colors, ‘out of character’ with the surrounding areas; the kind of thing that would seldom be done in the US. The end result will be a striking new urban business center for one of the biggest cities in France.

Here's a direct shot of the Orange Building from the other side of the Saône.

Showing the setting.

Other distinctive buildings in the redevelopment project.

And, almost directly across the river we see the gates and dual stairways of an old Marist Sisters' convent.

This example should give us pause when we start to think about how much more open and progressive our society is in the US. We are different, but then so is France – much more open to change than we are in some areas.

After our excursion, we walked the mile or so back to Vieux Lyon for a leisurely lunch at one of our favorite sidewalk cafes.  The weather was mid 70s with bright blue skies and a gentle breeze.   (Tough to think about coming back to Kirkland drizzle!)