Using a rusted metal-clad skin the Parisian architects K Architectures have made a formally bold, yet humble building that will evolve and weather with time, an object adaptive to its surroundings. The new archaeological museum in Soissons, France, pays homage to its heritage but is assertive in its place as a contemporary public building.

Click through for more images and details about the project.

Each building on the site of the Abbey Saint-Jean des Vignes hints at the location’s long history: ancient abbey buildings, a cloister, the church façade, exhibtion hall and arsenal (which testifies to its brief military occupation).

The choice to situate the archeaological museum at Soissons is judicious, even strategic. With plenty of research institutions nearby, the appeal of installing the reserve on an already well-known and often-visited site was evident. Now contemporary art hangs alongside murals dating back several centuries, while military architecture meets religious architecture in the surrounding area: it’s an organic mash-up between culture and science.

A section directly developed by the museum’s archeological theme:

For more information on the Archaeological Museum visit the Architizer project page here, and for more on K Architectures visit their profile here.

by Nicholas Solakian

posted in editor's pick

tagged abbey saint-jean des vignes, archaeology, france, K architectures, metal, paris, rust, soissons

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