La Piscine was an immediate and tremendous success with an astounding 200,000 visitors in its first year. The art deco beauty of the museum proved the perfect backdrop for the growing collection of painting, sculptures and textiles. The museum won accolades, being voted the best museum outside of Paris, attracting more visitors each year. It was so successful that another contest had to be held to create an extension.
Jean-Paul Philippon was again the winner (2011). “I didn’t expect to win” he says modestly “I would have been happy for whoever won. Architecture is about evolution”. His winning design featured lots of light and ceilings that mirror the curve of that over the original pool. It is as beautiful as the prototype.
There were several key requirements in the contest brief including creating a home for an enormous painting that was found rolled up in the attic of the town hall opposite La Piscine. It was being used to fill holes in the roof to stop water leaking through. The painting depicted the opening of Roubaix’s town hall in 1911 and, restored, it is superb. Another requirement was to recreate the Paris atelier of Henri Bouchard (1875-1960) a sculptor whose works can be seen in several locations in Paris including the Trocadero Gardens, and in museums around the world.
The new extension of more than 2000m₂ opened in October 2018 after two years of major work. It is light and airy, there are rooms dedicated to temporary exhibitions, permanent exhibitions, plinths to display specific pieces – this is innovative, bespoke and magnificent museum design.
The painting of Roubaix town hall, the Cinderella in the attic, is now a show stopper in its dedicated space. The Henri Bouchard atelier is breath-taking, filled with his sculptures, looking as if the great artist just popped out and is coming back any time. Next door, a room encourages visitors to touch art, feel it as a sculptor would, the lines and flaws, the coldness of marble or bronze. “We recreated the ambiance, colour, light of Paris, the same set up of the studio” says Gaudichon.