What future for chapel of the white penitentsrue Voltaire in Grenoble ? This is the question asked by the municipality as part of its call for projects, Gren’de projects, at the end of 2023, to which GrenobLe Lab responded, in particular.
The association was selected by the municipal council, Monday December 16, 2024, so that it could demonstrate its ability to bring together the conditions of legal and financial viability for its project to revive and restore the least the chapel.
The association hosts, in its premises which are adjoining the chapel, a branch of the collective Designers+a collective of artisans committed to reuse and a community of trainers specialized in the social sciences.
GrenobLe Lab selected by the City of Grenoble to bring the chapel on rue Voltaire back to life
“The chapel was inspiring for us, testifies Delphine Cartier-Millonco-founder of GrenobLe Lab, in particular with this nave which was formerly a space of communion and this is what we would like it to become again, for all the actors of the district, the city and the territory, a place which can host events, meetings , workshops, activities.”
In addition to the nave, the site includes two floors with different rooms and offices which could accommodate associationsnotably the International Center for Nomadic Music. At the rear of the nave, there are also spaces which could be converted into accommodation to accommodate artists in residence.
GrenobLe Lab, which surrounded itself with the Grenoble architectural firms Milk Architectes and Oz le design and DLAA, a Lyon firm specializing in heritage architecture, estimates approximately 200 000 euros the cost to restore these spaces and announces that it will cover it.
Nave of the chapel of the white penitents: a restoration estimated at 800,000 euros
The restoration the least of the nef is estimated, for its part, at approximately 800 000 euros. This includes: bringing it up to accessibility standards with the installation of an elevator, bringing it up to safety standards with the creation of a new public entrance and replacing the current doors, repairing the roof which presents urgent problems of waterproofing or even the cleaning the canopy to the ceiling for let the light penetrate.
To finance this, GrenobLe Lab wishes to rely on certain paid activities which could be organized in the nave, such as partner evenings, workshops on the theme of reuse or design, corporate events. The nave will also serve as a concert hall, an exhibition hall, a room for themed fairs, for antique dealers’ flea markets, an artistic rehearsal room, etc.
These activities would be managed not by the association but by a mission-driven company that she would create for the occasion, in conjunction with the City. This would rent the premises under a long lease.
Another part of the financing would come from patrons and donations from individuals with the establishment of a endowment fund. The work could at best start within a year with a opening to the public in 2026, or even 2027.
