Austrian architects won a competition for this project back in 2001, and its implementation was not easy: the construction process was interrupted for two years, and its first phase included exclusively the construction of a pile foundation (the total length of the driven piles was 536 m). They were necessary, since the museum was erected on a weak coastal soil - at the confluence of the Rhone and Sona. Confluence translates to "merge"; it is also the name of the entire area adjacent to the "arrow" (point de confluence, "point of confluence").
The museum is an important building on a city scale: its prominent location makes it a "beacon" and a symbol of the entire new Confluence district - a former industrial zone-peninsula near the center of Lyon, which is now being built up with cultural institutions, office and residential buildings designed by prominent architects.
The Coop Himmelb (l) au building is located on busy walking routes, so in order not to create an obstacle for the movement of citizens, the building is raised above the ground, and under it there is a "plaza" with a diner.
The Confluence Museum consists of three parts. The "plinth", on which the aforementioned "plaza" is located, accommodates two auditoriums (for 327 and 122 seats, respectively), rooms for pupils from nearby schools, storerooms and workshops, meeting rooms. Glazed Crystal is a lobby with a spiral ramp, stairs and elevators, and a bookstore. The third and most important volume is a stainless steel "Cloud" with a supporting structure such as a bridge. There are 9 halls (4 for permanent and 5 for temporary exhibitions) and "public" workshops; the upper level houses the administration offices, and the rooftop houses a café and solar panels. "Flying" cantilever arms of the building are inspired by water streams merging side by side.
The project budget was 185 million euros (3980 euros per square meter).
