The team won against several of Europe's leading architects including Mateo Arquitectura, Auer+Weber and Jean Nouvel. A subterranean complex of tunnels and chambers will surround the historic paintings, estimated to be 17,300 years old, creating a low-rise building that folds up from the landscape.
Speaking about Casson Mann’s winning design, Jury member Bernard Cazeau, Président du Conseil Général de la Dordogne, said: “ from the point of view of the scenography – which was, in our eyes an essential factor – it’s the most successful project.”
With a budget of €50million, Lascaux IV has been initiated to conserve the integrity of the original cave complex, while ensuring that the public can still appreciate the remarkable Paleolithic paintings within. It is part of a strategy to establish Lascaux and the region as an internationally culturally and scientifically significant attraction in terms of access to, understanding and conservation of parietal art.
The winning concept includes a low profile exterior that reflects the contours of the limestone topography and a dramatic interior designed to transport the visitor into a cave complex complete with tunnels, cavernous spaces and chambers lit by shafts of broken sunlight.
Description Project by Snohetta - Duncan Lewis
Arriving in Montignac, the hill over Lascaux caves imposes a physical, but moreover an historical presence. An exceptional cultural heritage, unique in the world, has been revealed in these caves, offering an unrivalled perspective on the history of humankind.
The Lascaux IV site is located at the boudary between the hillside and the Vezere valley, where the two landscapes meet. The valley is agricultural land that has been shaped by human activites, while the hillside is covered by almost impenetrable woodland, in which the dense vegetation plunges the undergrowth into near darkness. Deep in the caves below, centuries ago, prehistoric artists produced extraordinary cave paintings. The international centre of cave art will be installed at the boundary of the two diverging landscapes to provide a forum to showcase the astonishing cave paintings. The centre makes optimum use of the arrangements of the landscape, following the example of the prehistoric artists. A simple incision between the edge of the hill and the valley houses the Montignac-lascaux International Centre of the cave Art. The compelling form to unveil and share the secrets hidden within.
The centre faces north, towards Montignac, with the main entrance embracing as they arrive. The roof of the building cuts a gentle line into th limestone, mirroring the profiles of the Montignac hills. The facade ranges from transparent to translucent to opaque an d maintains an inseparable relationship with the exterior, offering hints of what is contained within. Illuminated at nights, the centre is the Icon of Lascaux IV, a beacon highlighting the caves cultural influence on the world. The public spaces, reception and catering areas extend along the line of the valley and are bathed in light. The exhibition areas a plunge deep into hillside and into darkness. between the two, the information area, with a fault in the rock presenting light from high above, exudes an almost sacred and spiritual atmosphere.
Snøhetta is an integrated architecture, landscape, and interior design company based in Oslo, Norway, and New York City, formed in 1989 and led by principals Craig Dykers and Kjetil Thorsen. The firm, which is named after one of Norway's highest mountain peaks, has approximately 100 staff members working on projects around the world. The practice pursues a collaborative, transdisciplinary approach, with people from multiple professions working together to explore diverse perspectives on each project.
Snøhetta has completed a number of critically acclaimed cultural projects, including the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt; the National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, Norway; and the Lillehammer Art Museum in Norway. Current projects include the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Center site in New York.
In 2004 Snøhetta received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, and in 2009 the firm was honored with the Mies van der Rohe Award. Snøhetta is the only company to have twice won the World Architecture Award for best cultural building, in 2002 for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and in 2008 for the National Opera and Ballet in Oslo.
