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Quentin Dos Santos Melgar
Published on
June 26, 2024 at 6:30 p.m.
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Located in the city center of Lisieux (Calvados), the old Saint-Jacques church is a must-see cultural place in the city. Since its deconsecration in 1965, the church has hosted a number of exhibitions and fairs.
Closed for more than 630 days, for development work, the Saint-Jacques space reopened for an event – the Palmarès prize for architecture and development in Calvados – Tuesday June 18, before even the official reopening of the premises.
Why was L’Espace under construction?
“Even if many curious people came to the site, L’Espace Saint-Jacques suffered from a certain lack of comfort,” indicated Sébastien Leclerc, mayor of Lisieux, in 2022.
A place that was too cold in winter, subject to humidity… this work aimed to transform the premises into an ERP (establishment open to the public), places which must respect a certain number of rules.
So in broad outline, the works – in the amount of 1.2 million euros – had the objective ofimprove comfort (installation of heating, sanitary facilities, new flooring) and accessibility places for people with reduced mobility.
Concretely, what is changing?
For Xavier Perret, project architect, the challenge was significant: “There was a desire to keep the materiality of the church, that is to say not having to drill into the walls or the columns, and to pass everything through the floor and the ceiling.”
A little history…
The church, in Gothic style, was built during the first half of the 16th century, under the orders of Guillemot de Samaison, master mason of the work. The last stone will be laid in 1540, the date of the dedication of the church, a little over forty years after the start of the work.
The church has survived many centuries, but was blown away by the bombings of June 1944. Very damaged, it was restored as faithfully as possible after the war.
Classified as a historic monument, it was deconsecrated in 1965, following the merger of the municipalities and parishes of Lisieux and Saint-Jacques.
For almost sixty years now, what we now call “Espace Saint-Jacques” has stood out for its role in hosting cultural events.
- Ceiling side: lighting. This takes the form of chandeliers suspended in the shape of petals, “a reference to the Gothic construction style of the church”specifies the architect.
- Ground side: the floor. Entirely made of bamboo, it has an astonishing particularity, it has a slope of 2% along the length of L’Espace. An almost imperceptible slope (unless you concentrate on it), but which for people with reduced mobility makes all the difference. Especially since the entrance to the church on the Boulevard Jeanne-d’Arc side is much higher than the entrance located along Rue au Char.
The floor even kills two birds with one stone, and has an additional role in addition to being visually very successful, “it allows you to hide everything under it: cables, pipes…”notes Xavier Perret.
- Heat side: heating. “Silent, will allow a less freezing atmosphere in winter.”
- Final touch. New sanitary facilities have also been installed.
The inauguration date not yet known
The project was originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023. “But due to archaeological excavations, the end of the project was postponed until the spring of the following year,” indicated Corinne Lecourt, deputy mayor in charge of heritage, in the municipal council.
In 2024, work will be completed “in their home stretch, especially with finishing touches.”
Finishing touches which were completed just before the event this past Tuesday. Sébastien Leclerc, inaugurating the ceremony, indicating that “the floor was all freshly laid and dry”.
Many people present at the ceremony expressed their admiration for the new formula of this Espace Saint-Jacques, “this is the first time I have come here, and the atmosphere of the place captivated me”, testified one of the speakers.
Currently, the date of the official inauguration is still not known. But the announcement of the establishment of a price scale, during the municipal council meeting on May 13, tells us that this should not take long.
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