La Plateforme (Former Painting Museum)

Museum

9, Place de Verdun
38000 Grenoble

The Platform, a centre of information on urban projects, is a meeting spot and a place of exchanges on the subjects of architecture and urban planning, which creates a living and dynamic link between inhabitants and town planning professionals.

Installed in a 19th century building (former Museum-Library) and created in 2004, the Platform is a place of information, exhibition, conferences and debates on architecture and urbanism that can welcome you in an exceptional setting classified under the aegis of the Buildings of France.

Inaugurated in 1872 after several years of work interrupted by the war of 1870, the museum-library was designed by the architect Questel in a neo-renaissance style.
It housed the municipal library until 1970 and the museum collections until 1993.
Five types of stone were used in the construction: Fontanil stone for the basement's load-bearing infrastructure; Chomérac stone for the base; Sassenage stone for the base; Echaillon stone for the entrance door and the window frames; and Saint Paul Trois Châteaux limestone for the upper facades and cornices.
The internal design of the building presents several technological innovations that were very modern for the time, including the use of the metal frame. The large library hall with its five glass domes is original and remarkable for its imposing size and architectural design. The Parisian painter Denuelle was in charge of the interior decorations, but two painters from the Dauphiné region, Diodore-Raoult and Blanc-Fontaine, executed the beautiful painted decorations of the vestibule.
The main façade, on the Place de Verdun, is decorated with six sculptures placed in niches and created by Blanc-Fontaine. They represent on the left side the allegories of Painting, Architecture and Sculpture and on the right side, those of Poetry, Science and History. Below the statues are six medallions of illustrious men.