Architecture | Renzno Piano Building Workshop’s “Cité Internationale” in Lyon, France

LYON, France — We almost labeled this one “brick” by mistake, until realizing it was actually a terracotta tile affair. The long rectangular tiles serve to accent the curve of the Cité Internationale by the Renzno Piano Building Workshop.

It’s form is enhanced by a long corridor running through the middle of the crescent. Apparently the corridor helps with the preservation of heat between the buildings. The firm had this to say about the project:

A project combining architecture and urbanism, the Cité Internationale covers an area of 15 hectares located between the Tête d’Or park and the Rhone river.

The programme comprises office and residential buildings, a congress centre, a hotel, a casino, a multiscreen-cinema complex and a museum of contemporary art. The scheme is composed of pairs of buildings, built in phases, on either side of a central pedestrian street, and creates new visual and physical links between the park and the river.

Clad in terracotta, this was the first RPBW project to introduce an extra outer layer of glass facade, enclosing an air gap that acts as a heat exchanger.

About the Firm

The Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW) is an international architectural practice with offices in Paris and Genoa.

The Workshop is led by 11 partners, including founder and Pritzker Prize laureate, architect Renzo Piano. The company permanently employs nearly 130 people. Our 90-plus architects are from all around the world, each selected for their experience, enthusiasm and calibre.

Since its formation in 1981, RPBW has successfully undertaken and completed over 120 projects across Europe, North America, Australasia and East Asia. Among its best known works are: the Menil Collection in Houston, Texas; the Kansai International Airport Terminal Building in Osaka; the Kanak Cultural Center in New Caledonia; the Beyeler Foundation in Basel; the Rome Auditorium; the Maison Hermès in Tokyo; the Morgan Library and the New York Times Building in New York City; and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Recently completed works include the Shard in London, and the New Whitney Museum in New York. The firm has been recognised by over 70 design awards, including major awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Do you love or loathe this work this work of contemporary ceramics? Let us know in the comments.