Médiathèque Pierre-Bottero, Pélissanne

November 27, 2022 In Libraries

An entry in the deeds register of the town of Pélissanne in Provence, south of France dated 1643 records that a house was built the year prior along the faubourg leading to St Roch church. Further, thanks to a property dispute that was also recorded, we know that the house was built by two stonemasons, Jean Clarion and Henri Fabron. The two men however had to relinquish the property to a certain Jean Chauffier because of a practice allowing family of the seller of a piece of land to substitute themselves to the buyer provided compensation was given.

Exterior of an old house converted to a library. The original building to the left is a three-story house with green shutters and a wrought iron pergola. The modern wing of the library to the right has a curved wall and window to accommodate a large mature tree growing in front of the house. A person on a bicycle moves through the scene.
When building the library’s modern wing, architects Dominique Coulon & associés were careful to preserve mature trees growing in the yard.

In 1756, the house is purchased by a wealthy lawyer, Maître Guillaume Ricard-Bérard together with a nearby meadow which he intends to turn into a park. In 1902, the house becomes the property of Léonie Reine Chauvet and her husband Eugène Antoine Émile Maureau. The house then remains in the Maureau family until it is sold to the town of Pélissanne in 2001. The town council uses it as a storage location for its archives, and a project to transform it into a library slowly takes hold. In 2019, the Maureau mansion began the next chapter of its existence as Médiathèque Pierre-Bottero.

Interior of a modern library with a large curved window opening to mature trees.
A large curved window connects the tree canopy with reading spaces inside the library.

The transformation project led by Dominique Coulon & associés took great care to preserve the historic building and its lovely park, in particular the two large mature trees growing in front of the house. The house is extended by a modern wing to the east that carefully wraps around the trees. To prevent sunlight reflecting on the curved glass collecting heat and damaging the tree, a special coating was applied.

Interior of a library, doorway from an older part of the building towards a modern wing, through which a curved window can be seen.
Interior of an old house converted to a library. Dark green bookshelves and tables contrast against white painted walls and ceilings, where beams are visible.

The two floors of the extension provide two distinct atmospheres: the lower floor, hosting the children’s collection, opens to the park with a full-length window, while the upper floor is turned towards the tree canopy and offers more introverted reading spaces. Further reading rooms and a conference space are installed across the historic house.

Interior of a modern library. A large window is seen at the back, opening to a garden. In the room are low bookshelves, book boxes, bean bags and a colourful rug.
Exterior of a old house converted to a library, with a modern wing to the right. In front is a manicured park with mature trees.

Inaugurated on May 18, 2019, the library is named after local writer Pierre Bottero. The images in this post date from my visit in 2021.

This post is part of a series on adaptive reuse in libraries. See the list of such projects I am maintaining or view other posts in this series.

References

  1. Médiathèque et parc Maureau. (2020). Dominique Coulon & Associés.
  2. Ayers, A. (2021). Media Library and Park in Pélissanne by Dominique Coulon & Associés. Architectural Record, 03.
  3. Pintos, P. (2020). Pélissanne Media Library, Park and Public Passage / Dominique Coulon & associés. ArchDaily.
  4. Proust, J. (2015). Numéro spécial consacré à l’histoire de la maison et du parc dits «Maureau.» Bulletin des Amis du Vieux Pélissanne. Via Le Pélican Frondeur, November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2022.



Content note

Library detail pages are primarily a place for me to collect information I gather on the libraries I visit, and are frequently updated. None of this should be considered authoritative, I am not an architect, nor a historian. If you notice something incorrect, please let me know!



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