The answer to the question is simple: all three institutions (monastery, prison and school) at different times were located in the same architectural complex. The monastery of Notre-Dame-de-Consolation in the Norman city of Louvier has a rich history: it was founded by the Franciscans in the 17th century, dissolved during the French Revolution, used as a prison, then as a warehouse for grain, and already in the 19th century. its buildings were partially demolished.
The existence of a prison in the history of the monastery is still reminiscent of the name of the street where it is located - Rue de Pénitant: “street of repentant sinners” (Rue des Pénitents). Since 1990, the surviving buildings have housed a music school, the area of which has recently been expanded with the help of the Parisian architectural bureau Opus 5. At the head of the studio, Bruno Decari is a well-known architect-restorer of "highly qualified" (Architecte en chef des monuments historiques), such specialists throughout France - about fifty.
In addition to the task of expanding the area, the architects wanted to emphasize the uncommonness of the architectural heritage site. The main new building is located on the ruins of the southern wing of the monastery, towering over the river Er. It is a tall concrete parallelepiped with a glass north facade. This facade has chrome stripes: according to the architects' plan, they should reflect the surrounding landscape during the day.
In the evenings, the new building is transformed: instead of a cold, closed, reflective surface, the wall becomes transparent and transparent, and behind it a view of the new concert hall opens.
The southern and side facades are tightly "docked" at the bottom with their historical base. They are set on a springy steel profile that simultaneously emphasizes the uneven border of old and new.
In addition to the building of the hall, which dominates the monastery complex, another one was built - on the eastern side, in front of one of the existing buildings.
