Neanderthal Museum
The project is a “path” which starts at the approach to La Chapelle-aux-Saints and ends at Bouffia Bonneval. It is a path with several stages, passing through a village whose history is closely intertwined with that of the Bouffias caves.
The Bouffias site is a geological creation which reflects the passage of time in a region, but also a cultural creation which reflects the evolution of Man. The project is a “path” which starts at the approach to La Chapelle-aux-Saints and ends at Bouffia Bonneval. It is a path with several stages, passing through a village whose history is closely intertwined with that of the Bouffias caves. As a result, the project’s architecture strives to maintain general spatial and functional coherence which results in a bold presence. The architectural design is calm to reflect the region and its history. The building offers a new place for exchange, teaching and shared culture; an iconic location. The design considers shadow, light, inside, outside, full, empty, plants, construction, the past, present and future. Its position in the site is based around composition, respect, coherence and showcasing the site, taking its history and morphology into account. A passage between the great landscape and a small scale, the project reveals the site’s geology as well as the village’s heritage. With determination and restraint, it aims to reach out beyond the physical limits of the village. This is reflected by the architecture and landscape’s inclusion in the morphology of the land. It is not about overhauling the current site, but rather revealing it through the new architecture. It allows the location to express its original identity. The new building closely follows the land’s morphology and offers a delicate link to the existing structure through empty spaces. The floors extend out and just the buildings emerge. The “original floor” extends out from the new buildings’ roof, which in turn become layers of the landscape. This is how the architecture and landscape, the existing structure and the new construction are closely linked and form a whole. The proposed architecture is made up of materials reflecting the rocky outcrops, echoing the notion of a stratus, a deposit, a layer, the idea of passing time, and on the other hand built heritage using limestone. The walls are made of “layered concrete”. This process using site aggregate will be poured in situ in successive passes which evoke sedimentation which created the limestone outcrops. It reflects the site’s materiality and colour palette, whilst underlining that the new building is indeed a modern building, resolutely contemporary to avoid overshadowing the site’s history.
