Cité Internationale

Lyon / France

A project combining architecture and urbanism, the Cité Internationale covers an area of 15 hectares located between the Parc de la Tête d’Or and the Rhone river. RPBW was commissioned in 1986 to undertake this major mixed use redevelopment.

A man is walking in front of a tall building with a lot of windows

The programme comprises offices and residential buildings, a congress centre, a hotel, a casino, a multi screen-cinema complex and a museum of contemporary art. The scheme is composed in pairs of buildings, built in phases, on either side of a central pedestrian street, and creates new visual and physical links between the park and the river.

A chair sits in front of a window overlooking a river

An aerial view of a large building next to a river

A person walking under a glass canopy in front of a large building

An urban development designed to bring people together through a diversity of uses and connective public spaces

A building with a lot of windows and trees reflected in them

An aerial view of a large red building with a lot of windows

Clad in terracotta, this was the first RPBW's project to introduce an extra outer layer of glass facade, enclosing an air gap that acts as a heat exchanger.

A group of people are standing in front of a large building

A large auditorium filled with people sitting in red seats

It is a black and white drawing of a building

A man walking in front of a large building

A large building is sitting next to a river in the middle of a city

A major convention center that includes exhibition spaces and a flexible performance hall

Following the initial phase, RPBW designed an extension for the Centre des Congrès – part of a drive to make Greater Lyon more attractive to both European business and tourism – began in 2003.

The Grand Amphithéâtre has put the Cité Internationale in an entirely new league. It was inaugurated on 1 June 2006.

Inaugurated in 2006, the extension has tripled the Centre de Congrès’ area (from 8170m² to 25000m²) and capacity (from 6500 to 19000 people). The modular Amphitheatre – designed based on its Gallo-Roman precursors – seats between 900 and 3220 guests. 10 new meeting rooms (spanning 1500m²) as well as a 5400m² exhibition venue (the Nouveau Forum) complete the multi-functional facility located at the Eastern end of the site.

A black and white drawing of a building with trees in the background

A large room with a lot of windows and a wooden floor

A large building with a blue sign that says chevys on it

A large building with a lot of windows is sitting next to a road

A group of people are walking through a large building with a glass roof

Project Details

Status

1986 - 2006

Design

Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Architects

Preliminary Design (1986)

Client

Ville de Lyon

Design Team

P.Vincent (partner in charge), F.Canal, G.Fourel, A.O’Carroll, E.Tisseur, A.H.Téménides, C.Ardiley, B.Kurtz; O.Doizy, C.d’Ovidio, A.Schultz (models)

Schematic Design (1990-1991)

Client

SARI

Design Team

P.Vincent (partner in charge), B.Tonfoni, M.Wollensak, A.El Jerari, J.B.Mothes, J.Moolhuijzen, P.Charles, A.H.Téménides, D.Nock and P.Darmer (models)

Consultants

Ove Arup & Partners (advice on structural and environmental aspects); Sari Ingénierie (structure and services); P.Castiglioni (lighting); Peutz & Associés (acoustics); A.Vincent (project co-ordination)

Design Development and COnstruction (1992-2006)

Client

Ville de Lyon / Communauté Urbaine de Lyon / SEM Cité Internationale with SARI Nexity, UGC, Groupe Partouche, George V, Alliade, SACVL, GL Events and SCSP / Louvre Hôtels

Design Team

RPBW: P.Vincent (partner in charge), J.B.Mothes, A.H.Téménides, P.Hendier, M.Henry, N.Meyer, T.Nguyên, E.Novel, M.Pimmel, M.Salerno (associates and architects in charge)with A.Chaaya, A.El Jerari, C.Jackman, A.Gallissian, S.Giorgio-Marrano, M.Howard, R.Self, B.Tonfoni, W.Vassal and J.Allard, K.Bergmann, M.Boudry, S.Briceño, C.Calafell, M.Cavelier, M.Courtay, L.Couton, S.Eisenberg, L.Gestin, Ch.Guillas, K.McLone, J.Miething, G.Modolo, N.Monge, D.Rat, L.Reggiardo, B.Schneider, Y.Surti, S.Uhr, E.Vestrepen, C.von Däniken, A.Chaouni, L.De Menezes, K.Demirkan, F.Durbano, U.Nakano; J.P.Allain, O.Aubert, C.Colson, P.Furnemont, Y.Kyrkos (models)

CRB: J.Ph.Ricard, A.Bedin, Ch.Valentinuzzi, N.de Fleurian, I.Ceccherini, H.Cocagne, F.Dumas

Corajoud: B.Scribe, J.Taborda Barrientos

Consultants

Agibat Ingénierie, Séchaud & Bossuyt, BEB, SLETEC Ingénierie (structure); Barbanel SA, C.Courtois, HGM, Inex Ingénierie, C.Fusée (building services); CSTB, GEC Ingénierie (façade consultants); Peutz & Associés (acoustics); R.Jeol, G.Foucault (lighting); Qualiconsult (fire prevention); GEC Ingénierie, GEC Rhône-Alpes, SLETEC Ingénierie (cost control); R.Labeyrie (stage & audio-video equipment); Trois C (kitchen equipment/congress center) ; A.Cattani (interiors/movie theater); R.Houben, R.Boulard (interiors/hotel); A.Deverini (interiors/casino); P.L.Copat (interiors/residence and hotel); Intégral Ruedi Baur (signage); Séchaud & Bossuyt (civil engineering); Végétude, Sol-Paysage (planting); Hydralp (water fountains); V.Bosch, Y.Bernard (theater programming consultants); J.D.Secondi (art consultant); Abac Ingénierie (co-ordination drawings/congress center) ; Syllabus (project co-ordination/movie-theater) ; Global (site co-ordination/congress center) ; Debray Ingénierie (site inspections/congress center)