To the north of the French commune of Chaponost, framed by 72 arches that belonged to the Gier aqueduct, lies the Tourist Office designed by the architecture studio Link architectes closely linked to one of the area's last tangible vestiges of Roman history The building distances itself from any simplistic analogy and does not aspire to recreate the arches or repeat the Roman construction system and the project adapts to current and local construction techniques The building establishes a harmonious dialogue with the Roman legacy through the choice of materials While the new tourist office designed by Link architectes reinterprets the constructive and material logic of the arch system the project does not aim to compete in size or presence with the aqueduct the land designated for the project limited the future construction to a maximum area of ​​100 m² the project is conceived as a supporting infrastructure that embraces the entire immediate landscape Concerning the linear geometry that characterizes the aqueduct the proposal is integrated into the site and is summarized in two fundamental intentions a tinted concrete wall connects the project to the site and organizes the main uses a roof extends beyond to protect the facades and house the reception and exhibition space resulting in a pleasant conversation with the aqueduct Description of project by Link architectes Lugdunum (Lyon) was mainly located on the hill of Fourvière In order to provide drinking water to the entire city four aqueducts transported water from the nearby mountain ranges (Mont d'Or Pilat Massif) to the capital of Roman Gaul The Gier aqueduct was by far the longest (over 80 km) and the most technically complex Its most spectacular legacy today is the alignment of 72 arches which powerfully emerge at the Plat de l'Air site in direct contact with one of the last tangible remnants of the Roman memory of the area that the Vallée du Garon Community of Municipalities chose to establish a new tourist office in 2019 located in direct view of the aqueduct’s arches classified as agricultural land in the local urban planning map limiting the future construction to a maximum floor area of 100 m² our work begins with understanding and measuring the scale of such an undertaking as the construction of this aqueduct in Roman times It is also defined by the awareness of the ingenuity of the mechanisms employed which contribute to the technical and aesthetic coherence of the structure The historical path of the aqueduct engages in dialogue with the topography of the land The project site has the specificity of incorporating several states of the aqueduct between its aerial and buried positions within the town of Chaponost and at the start of the siphon which crosses the Yzeron valley below The aqueduct works at both the “macro” scale of the territory and the “micro” scale of the construction and materiality of the arches which shapes and reveals a unique landscape The new tourist office is anchored in this logic any overly simplistic analogy with the ancient structure cannot compete with the historical depth that the aqueduct evokes the small size of the program (100 m²) complicates the desired relationship between the two buildings The project cannot compete in terms of size and presence so it draws its initial intentions from a reflection encompassing the site It is envisioned as a scenographic device that showcases the aqueduct through the visitors' perspective less an architectural object than the construction of a landscape The project is imagined as a service infrastructure rather than a building The intention is not to reduce the intervention to a mere constructed object but to shelter a space that embracing the entire landscape that faces it following the geometry of the aqueduct in a linear fashion which rationally places the parking areas in direct connection with the existing roadway A path that links the entrance to the tourist office and a meadow that distances the building from the street both to protect it from nuisances and to open up the view of the aqueduct. - The second layer inscribes the building supported by a retaining wall that manages the slope of the land. - The third layer is left open The project is defined and reduced to two elementary intentions: a wall that installs the project within the site and organizes the uses made of tinted and then sandblasted concrete is set parallel to the aqueduct and defines a platform embedded in the depth of the land hosting parking and public service functions It emerges on one side and disappears into the ground on the other extending far beyond the space of the tourist office The wall crosses the building and continues beyond It thickens at certain points within the building to accommodate service functions a large open and traversing space brings together the public reception the idea here is to lose no surface area in circulation; every square meter is valuable the recessed functions serve the main space The roof shelters the reception and exhibition space and extends beyond to protect the façades and form a porch at the entrance thus doubling the interior area of the building and reinforcing its welcoming function The boundary between interior and exterior is deliberately blurred This is the ambition of the project: to offer a space backed by a wall of functions built using a system of repetitive arches made of stone which we are interested in revisiting according to modern production methods nor repeating a construction system that would make no sense today it is about reinterpreting a way of building and adapting it to the skills of our time and locality but with the ambition of working this material in resonance with the aqueduct A series of Douglas fir posts support a beam which in turn supports all the roof purlins This structure mirrors the rhythm of the arches The roof is therefore reduced to its simplest expression with a visible purlin network on the ceiling that characterizes the space ensuring the greatest possible delicacy in a spirit of “disappearance,” leaving space for the presence of the aqueduct an attentive dialogue is established regarding the proportions and composition of the two structures Link architectes.  Available surface.- 100 sqm.Gross built area.- 200 sqm Competition.- Winner: 2020.End date.- November 2024 Vladimir de Mollerat du Jeu Archive Architecture Antoine Lebrun il s’en est allée tester la cuisine de La Forêt Noire un magnifique restaurant situé à 15 minutes du centre de Lyon on a une énorme masse de bons restos à Lyon ça ne fait quand même pas de mal de faire quelques kilomètres hors de la ville le temps d’un repas on a déniché une véritable pépite à seulement 15 minutes du centre-ville Direction La Forêt Noire de Chaponost Dépaysement et régalade garantis le menu n’est pas interminable ce qui signe une cuisine maison La préparation respecte la saveur et la qualité des produits le tataki de thon à l'assaisonnement parfait au soja et wasabi et la fameuse Forêt Noire nous ont presque fait tourner de l’oeil.. les plats oscillent entre 18 euros et 27 euros une fine sélection d’excellents cocktails est également proposée pour débuter vos soirées entre potes Si vous cherchez un endroit chic pour une soirée entre amis en amoureux ou même un repas dominical en famille sortez des sentiers battus direction Chaponost et sa Forêt Noire Dépaysement et régalade garantis La Forêt Noire 1 Route des troques - Chaponost Ouvert tous les jours de 12h à 23h (bar à cocktails à partir de 18h)Tél le nouveau restaurant aux inspirations franco-américaines aux portes de Lyon le temple du goûter et des gaufres dans les pentes de la Croix-Rousse à Lyon