/ La Laiterie du Domaine des Etangs, Massigniac
— 2018
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A gallery space and two libraries positioned on the two outstanding mezzanines of the Laiterie space of the Luxurious resort Domaine des Etangs in Massignac, France

A solid 18th century building Made of stone and wood, it is solid and reassuring. It reminds us of a time when everything was slower and more durable. The Dairy is today the rustic showcase of an immense knowledge and way of a life. It shelters great beauties. Past, present and future combine in the service of curiosity and knowledge.

It is located at the entrance of the château’s garden. It highlights the perspective and with many other buildings - farmhouses and the mill - and is an integral part of the history of the Domaine des Etangs. Beautiful limestone, thick oak beams, symmetry and height; this construction is ingeniously functional.

“The library represents transmission, a link between past, present and future. This knowledge, this wisdom must be preserved and sustained in a time that is one and unique.”
Garance Primat

There are two spaces to read, learn or work, two libraries that contain much more than books. Everything has been designed to establish a successful dialogue between content and container. One cannot exist without the other.

A miracle of chance or fate, this piece, dating from the 1930s and over 8 metres long, fits perfectly - to the nearest centimetre - on the mezzanine wall.

At each end of the building are two mezzanines. They communicate above the central exhibition space, face one another, and complement each other. On the left is that of the past, on the right that of the future. Between the two, a present always in movement represented by the works exhibited in the gallery.

DESCRIPTION OF LA LAITERIE

In the ground floor of La Laiterie is a vast, fully modular exhibition space ready to accommodate all types of works, either exhibited on picture rails or installed inside.

Each element of both libraries was made to measure by the best French craftsmen and, as far as possible, from local materials. Like these long benches located between the two libraries, each made from a single piece of local wood.

“Everything started with this brief about time. How could we present the books, preserve them, consult them? How could we highlight the past without making a museum, simply by rewriting it today?”
Raphael Navot