Hangar Y - Refurbishment and Restructuring of an Historical Monument into an Art Centre

Located on the edge of the Meudon forest and overlooking the Étang de Chalais, Hangar Y is a wrought-iron and stone structure built from the metal porticoes of the Galerie des Machines from the 1878 Paris World’s Fair. The hall consists of a large central nave flanked by two lateral aisles, and housed the first airships at the end of the 19th century. This vast "volume capable" now hosts a cultural program combining exhibitions, performances, and public gatherings. Restored and enhanced, its nave and new glazed façade extend the dialogue between the architecture and the surrounding landscape.

The project tackled the challenge of restoring a building listed as a Historic Monument since 2000 while adapting it to a flexible cultural program. The goal was to transform the former airship hangar into a lively cultural venue without compromising its heritage value. Originally open to the north for airships to pass through, the façade had been gradually enclosed with brick and steel. In collaboration with heritage authorities, the architects conceived a new “third phase” façade: a lightweight, transparent structure in steel and glass that reveals the great nave and enhances its luminous quality. The design reinstates the hangar’s original spatial essence — a vast, open, and light-filled central void — while integrating two autonomous mezzanines in the side aisles, thus offering adaptable spaces for a variety of uses.

In order to restore and enhance the existing structure, the wrought-iron frame and stone plinths were meticulously renovated and consolidated, while a new quartz concrete slab incorporating heating and cooling systems provides both structural stability and functional flexibility for exhibitions and events. The fully glazed north façade, supported by a fine steel structure, reinterprets the hangar’s original openness while meeting modern performance standards. Its composition aligns with the existing structural grid, and a central oculus softens its geometry, recalling the airships once sheltered within. On their part, the autonomous mezzanines ensure reversible interventions and ease of maintenance without impacting the existing structure. The restrained material palette of iron, glass, stone, and concrete guarantees durability, coherence, and minimal environmental impact, establishing a subtle dialogue between the building’s historic identity and its renewed contemporary function.