the halle Tony Garnier

The 4th Lyon Biennial of Contemporary Art will be presented in a single venue: the Halle Tony Garnier (17,000 m2).

Situated on the southern borders of Lyon, on the banks of the Rhône, it is just a few minutes from the city centre.
In the heart of the Gerland district, which is undergoing a fundemental upheaval, it is located next to the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Sciences and the Olympic Stadium.
Built at the start of the 20th century, it is the work of the great architect Tony Garnier from Lyon, who was awarded the first Grand Prix de Rome. It was part of a huge project for a utopian city, which Garnier continued to elaborate over the course of his life. Throughout the 20th century, this urban utopia inspired numerous architects, including some of the most illustrious: Le Corbusier, for example, cited Tony Garnier as one of his influences.

The construction of the building, which was completed in 1928, is integrated into the sprawling former site of the city's slaughterhouses. The metal structure of the building's roof once covered the huge livestock market.
In 1967, the slaughterhouses were transferred to Corbas, in the suburbs of Lyon, and the buildings at Gerland were demolished. Only the Halle Tony Garnier itself was preserved. In 1987, the rehabilitation of the building, which had meanwhile been classified as a historic monument, was entrusted to the architects Reichen and Robert.
The great hall is one of the last remaining examples of metallic architecture, which was very fashionable at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.
In view of its immense span, the construction technique represents an amazing exploit. It is 210 metres long, and is made up of a series of arches, 86 metres wide, with a roof in the form of a staircase with two face-to-face slopes.

Today, the hall has been given a second lease of life, and, since 1988, has become a part of Lyon's cultural apparatus. It plays host to a variety of events: salons, exhibitions, cultural and sporting events, concerts and shows.

Tony Garnier (1869-1948) Architect
The buildings he designed in Lyon include: the Gerland Olympic Stadium, Grange-Blanche hospital, the Etats-Unis housing project. He also designed the town hall in Boulogne-Billancourt.