The art-deco landmark, La Piscine de Roubaix, renowned as France’s most beautiful swimming pool, opened in 1932 in the town of Roubaix, which at the time was home to a thriving textile industry.
The pool became a space where all social classes could mingle, but it fell out of use as the northern French town’s textile industry collapsed, and shut down by 1985. A decade later, the building was transformed into a museum space by the architect Jean-Paul Philippon, who also designed the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. La Piscine welcomed its first museum visitors in 2001.
The distinctive features of the swimming pool are central to the museum’s design: works from the modern sculpture collection line the edges of the old main pool, while applied art collections are displayed in the refurbished shower and changing rooms.
The museum itself dates back to 1835 and holds collections of 19th- and 20th-century fine and applied arts, as well as regional industrial history. It had been without a home for 60 years before it moved into the swimming pool building.
In 2011, Philippon won a competition to design a much-needed extension for the museum, which has added 2,300 sq m of gallery space. The project includes a new structure built next to the pool, which displays the history of Roubaix, as well as a new gallery for the postwar Roubaix Group of painters, improved workshop spaces and staff facilities, and a renovation of the entrance lobby.
Bruno Gaudichon is the director of La Piscine and consulted with the architect on the entire refurbishment and extension.
What were the main aims of the restoration project?
Bruno Gaudichon: The project had several objectives: the first was to enlarge the space displaying the permanent collection to give more room to contemporary ceramics, modern sculpture, local history and the Roubaix Group of artists, who popularised modern art in the Pas-de-Calais region in the north between 1945 and 1975. The second aim was to increase our capacity to welcome groups of young people by creating new workshops for them for artistic techniques, ceramics, sculpture, textiles and museography.
And third, to improve visitors’ experience by changing the way they arrive in the reception area; and to meet the needs of staff by creating designated work and rest spaces.
What is the most innovative aspect of the redevelopment?
Without a doubt, the addition of new technology, particularly in the room dedicated to the history of Roubaix and the footage in the sculpture gallery. For young visitors, the treasure hunt using an interactive tablet is a remarkable innovation.
How does the museum’s unique location work with the collection and influence the visitor experience?
He didn’t battle against the impressive space but based his idea on harnessing this piece of heritage, which had such importance for the people of the town. He continued this dialogue for the new extension, using the pool’s spirit and shape while brilliantly avoiding any temptation towards pastiche and always staying faithful to the original building. The pool is still central to the experience of La Piscine. And thanks to a new space dedicated to the town’s history – which sits alongside the pool – it fully plays its part in evoking the city’s identity.
What highlights of the collection are on display?
In each of the new spaces we have put a lot of thought into making the hang logical and consistent. Our strategy was to highlight works or groups of works. For example, there’s the Panorama of the Inauguration of the Roubaix Hôtel de Ville (1911), an impressively large work made by the Bailly and Jambon workshop.
Then there’s the recreation of the studio of the sculptor Henri Bouchard, including hundreds of works that illustrate his entire career, and the powerful Forgotten Christ, a spectacular bronze by Jean Roulland, which dominates the room dedicated to the Roubaix Group. The collection also includes Marc Alberghina’s The Factory, which provides a link between the contemporary ceramics collection and the town’s industrial identity. All these are newly displayed works that enrich the experience of visiting the museum considerably.
What is the audience profile?
The industrial town of Roubaix has been affected by the 40-year crisis in textile manufacturing and, as a result, its demographic is not typical of traditional museum and gallery visitors. But thanks to the amazing work of our public services aimed at children and young people – as well as the support of an active museum friends group and associations that work with disadvantaged people who are isolated from cultural activities – the people of Roubaix come to the museum in large numbers.
That’s not to say that our work is done. Outreach to locals, who require a particular approach, remains one of our prime objectives. This kind of museum brings a positive image to the town and the region, fully connected to the identity of Roubaix and northern France, and we are proud to be seen as one of the landmarks of local tourism.
What has the response been from visitors to the museum since it reopened?
The remarkable number of visitors – around 250,000 a year before the extension – is the best answer to your question. There is a strong relationship between the museum and its users, and since the reopening, visitor numbers and the messages we have received lead us to think that those who loved the original museum have been won over by the augmented version we have created. More than 30,000 people have visited since the October 2018 inauguration, which was a wonderful shared moment with our most faithful and generous visitors.
www.roubaix-lapiscine.com
Bruno Gaudichon is the director of La Piscine
Project data
- Cost €9m (£8m)
- Main funders City of Roubaix; French government; Hauts-de-France region; Métropole Européenne de Lille; Friends of the Museum; La Piscine Club of Business Patrons
- Architect Jean-Paul Philippon
- Display cases and furnishings, new extension Jean-Paul Philippon; Bruno Gaudichon and Alice Massé, La Piscine
- Display case manufacturer Séquoia
- Display case glass Dubrulle
- Admission Adult €9; Child €6