International Centre for Cave Art (Lascaux IV)
FranceCompany Name: Sudrie & Fils / Valiani & Fils
Project description
The new International Centre for Cave Art is located near the village of Montignac, in Southwestern France. This new space open for visitors is a holistic museum and educational experience: visitors are invited to experience the authentic emotion felt at the discovery of the cave and to reflect on the environmental and cultural context in which it was decorated. It contains the full-scale replica of the original cave of Lascaux! The architecture of the building forms an integral part of the visitor’s experience: the 150 meters long half-buried building made of concrete and glass is perfectly integrated into the landscape. It was designed like an incision, or a horizontal fault running its whole length, that evokes a gash in the hill or a prehistoric stratum. Inside, there are no straight walls, but a tangle of rooms with atypical shapes. The contractors were commissioned to build the entire set of partitions, linings and ceilings, which serve as framework for the scenography.
Contractor
Sudrie & Fils / Valiani & Fils
The project was conducted jointly by 2 local contractors, Sudrie and Valiani, both members of the « Club entreprises Placo® ». Both companies are specialized in technical non-residential projects, and have already been collaborating together on some larger projects.
Key Achievements
- The collaboration of 2 contractors who knew each other very well made it possible to cope with this huge project.
- The tight collaboration with Placo® helped them define bespoke solutions, addressing performance requirements and productivity gains
- This prestigious project, with international, historic and emotional dimensions, will be a reference project for the 2 contractors.
- The modern technique of plasterboard made its contribution to the safeguarding of a heritage that is unique for the history of humanity.
Key Challenges
- A project on behalf of Human History, with an oneiric dimension
- Cooperate with a team of scenographers
- The overall dimensions of the project: ~15 000 m² of plasterboard
- The integration of openings in a complex ceiling, as part of the scenography
- Very high partitions (up to 13 m), with acoustic and fire resistance requirements
- Part of the works were conducted in “wet” conditions, since a crane remained inside the building site throughout a part of the plasterworks