80 ans des Gratte-Ciel

To mark the 80th anniversary of the Gratte-Ciel, a temporary exhibition is being held in the heart of the city, inviting Villeurbannais residents to “travel through space and time and cross the threshold of their future.” The exhibition takes the form of a monumental footbridge in the heart of the Gratte-Ciel district, allowing Villeurbanne residents to “suspend” themselves above the Cours Émile Zola and get a glimpse of the upcoming project: Gratte-Ciel downtown. It is a stroll through the memory, history, and future of Villeurbanne. Composed of a scaffolding structure, the footbridge hosts a large-format exhibition, punctuated by “temporal towers” and signage. The exhibition offers a dive into the history of the construction of the Gratte-Ciel on Avenue Henri Barbusse, and, after crossing the Cours Émile Zola, an opportunity to imagine the city of tomorrow through images of future architectural projects. Outside, the footbridge showcases the faces of today’s Villeurbannais through giant portraits photographed by Vincent Muteau. The exhibition gallery is 250 meters long and punctuated by 18 towers, with the highest point at 6.25 meters above ground level at the crossing of Cours Émile Zola. The panorama of Villeurbannais, a large sound installation synchronized at 12 points—which combines testimonials about life in the neighborhood, its extraordinary architectural project, urban sound effects, and poetic interludes—takes place in a cylinder covered with mirrors and built around the statue of Le Répit du Travailleur (The Worker’s Rest). The Cours Émile Zola is spanned by a 12-meter container, whose
large bay window offers a new view of the city and an unprecedented perspective on the Gratte-Ciel.