Grenoble City Hall
The City Hall, on the edge of Paul Mistral Park, was built from 1965 to 1967 as part of preparations for the 1968 Winter Olympics. The main architect was Maurice Novarina, assisted by Jacques Giovannoni, Jacques Christin and Marcel Welti. It is built of steel, glass, aluminium and concrete. It replaced the Hôtel de Lesdiguières, the former government seat since 1719. The instructions for a new city hall came from the French state in 1962, and the chosen site was occupied by military buildings and part of the site of 1925's International Exhibition of Hydropower and Tourism. The building was opened on 18 December 1967 by interior minister Christian Fouchet, mayor Hubert Dubedout and sports minister François Missoffe.
The building's 12-storey tower requires foundations of 15 to 18 metres. Offices related to local government and the mayor are located on the ground floor, and those related to local services in the tower.
In March 2003, the building was one of several in Grenoble to be given the "Patrimoine du XXe siècle" (20th Century Heritage) status by the French state. In 2016, this status was succeeded by the similar "Architecture contemporaine remarquable" (Remarkable Contemporary Architecture).
In 2017, the City Hall was told that it failed modern fire regulations, particularly concerning its 12-storey tower and the potential fuel source of paper archives on the ground floor. In the early hours of September 2019, there was a fire in the council chamber, which authorities believed to be an act of arson.
References
- ^ Fontana, Julie (9 February 2018). "50 ans après : l'Hôtel de Ville" [50 years later: the City Hall]. Gre Mag (in French). Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "L'Hôtel de Ville de la modernité" [The modern-day City Hall] (PDF) (in French). Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ Corubolo, Charline (18 April 2017). "Grenoble : zoom sur douze bâtiments phares du XXe siècle" [Grenoble: focus on twelve iconic buildings of the 20th century]. Le Petit Bulletin (in French). Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "Hôtel de Ville" [City Hall] (in French). Grenoble Patrimoine. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ Fourgeaud, Gérard (31 July 2019). "L'hôtel de Ville de Grenoble pourrait-il se transformer en tour infernale ?" [Could Grenoble City Hall transform into a towering inferno?] (in French). France Bleu. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "L'incendie à la mairie de Grenoble est d'origine criminelle" [Fire at Grenoble City Hall was of criminal origin]. Le Monde (in French). Agence France Presse. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2022.