On the island of Porquerolles, a true natural monument, preserving the site is a fundamental condition for any project.
The creation of the Contemporary Art Foundation is therefore based on an extension of the existing Provençal villa, maintaining its footprint as a testimony to the memory embedded in the landscape. The project closely and necessarily intertwines landscape, museographic, and architectural dimensions.
To integrate the museum into the terrain’s topography, 2,000 square meters of space are carved out beneath the natural ground level. Only a few opaque stone walls, made from local materials, and planted terraces are visible above ground. Carefully placed openings frame specific views, provide orientation, and allow natural light to enter.
Inside the villa, the spaces expand and unfold in a cross-shaped layout. The underground area is designed as a sequence of exhibition rooms. At the heart of the museum, embedded within the structure, a ceiling of water lets natural light filter through, illuminating the volumes, which thus appear to be submerged.
