Our projects

Palais de la Découverte

Paris - France

An innovative concept, the result of a demanding and unique global approach:

To reinvent the Visitor Experience of the world’s oldest scientific interpretation center, we deliberately challenged the intersection of culture and 21st-century user-centric design with the exceptional identity of a heritage building at the heart of Paris.

Stakes of the project

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Science and sciences, sources of inspiration and hybridization:

Because sciences develop a universal language, our project draws inspiration from their codes and taps into their resources to make the visitor experience understandable and meaningful.

In this sense, we have made hybridization, so representative of current scientific disciplines, the active principle of the project’s design process, the lever to meet sustainability and functionality goals of the program, the grammar of an innovative scenographic language.

Visitors, in all their humanity, at the heart of the project:

We have made the wonder provided by scientific culture a major entry point to introduce and familiarize all audiences with scientific culture, just as we have relied on curiosity, essential for researchers and a sensitive driving force for the appropriation of knowledge by the public.

Diffused light, refracted sound… the signature of the new Palais de la Découverte:

Sound and light are the raw materials of the scenographic project: their universal dimensions permeate us all. Natural elements, they are found at the intersection of all scientific disciplines…

Together, and each in their own way, sound and light shape the new signature of the Palais de la Découverte and constitute a major element of the Visitor Experience.

A deliberately inclusive journey, accessible to everyone and for everyone:

The project provides an innovative response to the ambition of the museum program so that, upon reopening, the Palais de la Découverte, with its rich heritage, is clearly perceived and experienced by all – young and old, knowledgeable and amateurs alike – as a place of reference and dialogue with the sciences, open to the world and its challenges in our contemporary society. The Visitor Experience intentionally provides an unrestricted, perceptive, and intuitive journey, consistently adopting an inclusive and collaborative approach, making it accessible to all audiences.

An imperative demand: Reversibility and frugality in all layouts:

Our scenographic proposal intentionally embraces frugality to harmonize with the historical building: we engage in a design dialogue with its heritage elements and ultimately construct as minimally as possible, ensuring that all developments are entirely reversible. The purpose of these is to enhance the comfort of visitation and usage for visitors, mediators, and operational staff (acoustic and climatic comfort, functional services).

A sustainable approach to the project and a total commitment on the environmental front:

Because sciences are mobilizing for sustainability, the scenographic project sets an example here. Apart from making the layouts reversible, we focused on minimizing construction and using environmentally-friendly materials, either sourced from reuse or derived from bio-based sources. 5% of the construction budget is allocated to an environmental program aimed at offsetting the unavoidable carbon footprint of the project.

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    Credits

    Architect and exhibition designer, leading firm : Ateliers Adeline Rispal

    Phytotechnology Expertise : Merci Raymond

    Zootechnical Expertise : FOX Consulting

    Exhibition equipment design : Scenarchie

    Multimedia engineering : InnoVision

    Sound design : Idee und Klang

    Engineering and design of hands-on devices : Tactile studio

    Graphic design and signage : Chevalvert

    Lighting design : Les éclaireurs

    Environmental Engineering Consulting : ELAN

    Engineering office for structure : Bollinger+Grohmann

    Acoustics : AVLS

    Construction economics : Parica