Coop Himmelb(l)au
Musée des Confluences, Lyon

Functioning as a museum of human history, this impressive concrete, metal, and glass colossus truly does appear to float above the peninsula at the confluence of the Rhône and the Saône. Like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, this new building, so impossible to overlook, is an inspiration for the revitalization of disrupted urban areas and the valorization of derelict industrial areas – within the city precincts, but also far beyond Lyon. This Opus volume deals with the origins, construction, function, and formal appearance of the Musée des Confluences, and also offers a preliminary theoretically based evaluation of the architecture of the building. (Excerpt Axel Menges)