Q-Park Ravet is a parking garage and viewing platform that celebrates urban heritage
Q-Park Ravet by Hérault Arnod Architectures with artist Krijn de Koning brings creativity and monumentality to a utilitarian parking garage structure in the French city of Chambéry
![Q-Park Ravet by Hérault Arnod Architectures with artist Krijn de Koning brings creativity and monumentality to a utilitarian parking garage structure in the French city of Chambéry](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2LJbVtLPLtKDghNtqpDTVY-415-80.jpg)
Q-Park Ravet is a parking garage but not as you know it. Conceived by Hérault Arnod Architectures and located in the French city of Chambéry, the project comprises a flowing, glowing, glass-enclosed structure that houses the necessary car parking spaces, alongside a bright red sculptural staircase and box that hang on its façade, executed in collaboration with artist Krijn de Koning. The Paris-based architecture studio and Dutch artist arrived at this imaginative solution when faced with the challenge of creating the, typically, fairly utilitarian structure, on a plot set against the city's biggest 12th-century monument – the castle of the Dukes of Savoy.
Q-Park Ravet by Hérault Arnod Architectures with Krijn de Koning
Q-Park Ravet’s main body was carved as a curved, translucent volume with gentle edges and a discreet personality during the day – which becomes illuminated at night, as it comes alive through contrast, light and transparent movement. De Koning's artistic touch brings an added layer of spectacle that transforms the scheme from straightforward infrastructure to a layered piece of urban drama. In collaboration, the design team attached a sculptural ‘belvedere’ (or viewing platform) strategically placed to oversee the castle to the exterior of the garage building, allowing visitors to use it as a viewing platform to admire and take in the city's historical treasure.
Photovoltaic panels on the rooftop, and gardens planted with ferns, periwinkles, maples, hydrangeas, pines, fig trees, lavender, and various grass typologies inside, blend a city-centre experience with a nod to nature through sustainable architecture techniques.
Meanwhile, 'the belvedere lends a public and urban dimension to the building, enabling a new way to embrace the city', the team write. 'The belvedere-sculpture, cantilevered out to the axis of the rue de Boigne, is attached to the building of the car park, with tones subduing the warm colours of the façades of the old town houses. From above, it offers a majestic panorama towards the urban landscape, the river, the castle, and the Alps. Descending the belvedere staircase puts you on the axis of the street, and it is framed at mid-height to highlight a unique perspective of the historic city.'
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
At Lee Ufan Arles, tension and calm guide relationships between space and art
Lee Ufan Arles opens in the south of France, a collaboration between the famed Korean artist and Japanese architect Tadao Ando
By Amah-Rose Mcknight Abrams Published
-
A new era: Centre Pompidou architects discuss their bold 2030 plans
Plans for the Centre Pompidou 2030 vision were recently announced, revealing a design refresh of the iconic Paris structure; we caught up with its lead architects Moreau Kusunoki to hear more
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
The Grand Paris Express, Europe’s largest urban design project, is en route to success
The Grand Paris Express is a system of new rapid transit lines across the French capital, with each station designed by a different architect – and it's currently under construction
By Amy Serafin Published
-
The Fondation Maeght in Provence digs deep for a spectacular gallery expansion
The Fondation Maeght, the first private art institution, turns 60 this year and celebrates with a glamorous extension to its Provence home
By Amy Serafin Published
-
The new Krug winery in the Champagne heartland connects process and nature
AW2 Architects’ design for the Krug winery encapsulates the part rural, part urban landscape of the French winemaking region of Ambonnay
By Caragh McKay Published
-
Grand Palais restoration in Paris through the lens of champion fencer Enzo Lefort
As Paris’ Grand Palais prepares to reopen following extensive restoration by Chatillon Architectes, we visit the site with champion fencer and photographer Enzo Lefort, who documented the space ahead of the Olympic Games 2024
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Royan Architecture Month showcases French modernism by the sea
Royan Architecture Month 2024 launches in the French city, where many travel to see midcentury builds by the sea, from Notre Dame church to Palais des Congrès
By Stacy Suaya Published
-
Dip into the Paris pools and swimming culture enriching the 2024 Olympic Games
Paris pools, in the Olympics and beyond, have inspired fun, wellness and a love of sports in the French capital
By Ellen Himelfarb Published