LA FABRIQUE POLA
Founded in the early 2000's by a group of artists, as a resource centre to promote and develop the arts in the region of New-Aquitaine, POLA moved in 2019, to a permanent location - the Pargade warehouse - situated on the Brazza quay, a former industrial site on the right bank of the River Garonne, in Bordeaux.
A non-profit organisation, created by and for the artists of the community, the team at La Fabrique Pola work producing, creating, training and exhibiting in a space, as much a cultural centre involving the public, as a space dedicated to the professional structuring and promotion of the visual arts.
From its new base, in the heart of the Angeliques park on the Right Bank of the river, Pola is investing in a long-term relationship with the public, working at the heart of the community to encourage the place of art in the daily life of everyone - 'art not separated from experience.'
Gardens on the quays along the Left Bank of the Garonne, now being extended along the Right, the Chaban-Delmas bridge with walkways as easily accessible as on the traditional Pont de pierre, have opened up new paths along the river. The old warehouse, now transformed into a cultural centre – La Fabrique Pola - is on the new pedestrian route and its four large concrete porticos with folding glass doors, invitingly open up its spaces to welcome the public.
The metal structure and the roof, preserved from the original structure, not only adds character, but their presence imposes rhythm and order to the new use.
The public facade of the Factory is on the street, and with high, framed glass openings, instead of the sliding doors of the old warehouse, the building has the spirit of an artist's studio. The workshops, exhibition and catering areas, all open to the public, are defined by a concave, double-height space between each area to create a honeycombed interior opening out via high accordion porticos to the gabled facade on the Brazza quay. The warehouse is no longer a box but an open structure enjoying an intimate relationship with its environment.
In the interior, the wide, spacious mezzanines are irregularly punctuated by work and exhibition spaces. They are temporarily allocated as such to invoke the image of an artist or craftsman working, improvising, exhibiting and living in an 'attic.'
The project is conceived as a hospitable space, a home for creativity and a support for the creative. The materials used express functionality. The equipment is modular.
In the interior visible service networks, grey concrete, white siporex, natural spruce. Washed beige fibrocement on the river facade; aluminium supports, white cladding, grey concrete portico on the Brazza facade. The materials were chosen for their expressive and practical qualities.
LA FABRIQUE POLA can be embraced without complex for a few passing hours by a tentative beginner, or for several years, by an experienced artist, finally anchored at quay.
