La Cité Mirroir

Before the current La Cité Mirroir, there was Les Bains de la Sauvenière - a sports complex and public baths - between Boulevard de la Sauvenière and Place Xavier Neujean. The complex was built in 1938 in 'Packet Boat Style', a modernist architectural style from the interbellum. This style refers to the streamlined aesthetic of packet boats, which flourished in the first half of the twentieth century.

In October 1936, the city council approved a plan to build a bathhouse on the site of a school on the Place Xavier Neujean. The design of the building is by architect Georges Dedoyard, who was selected following an architectural competition.

Construction began in 1938, but was delayed by the outbreak of World War II. The building was not completed and opened to the public until May 1942. The large six-storey 'Packet Boat Style' building has a sports complex and an indoor swimming pool. The most striking feature is the large swimming pool hall on the 3rd floor, which is 80 meters long and several tens of meters high. The hall is illuminated by a large glass roof in the concrete vault of the Cristalleries du Val-Saint-Lambert, supported by eight reinforced concrete arches.

The complex consists of a large hall with two swimming pools, the recreational pool (25 m x 15 m) and the large swimming pool, with Olympic dimensions at that time (33 m x 14 m), surrounded by stands with heated benches for 1250 spectators, areas for swimming and and hydrotherapy, a restaurant and a bus station on the ground floor.

In the mid-1990s, the threat of the building's demolition initially caused no excitement. But following the publication of an article by art historian Flavio Di Campli, a citizen campaign is organized to save the building and a petition is launched.

In 2000, the pool closed its doors due to non-compliance with safety standards. The building is partially abandoned and only a few facilities are still in use. A renovation project is started, but as time passes, the renovation project is stopped.

In 2009, the 'La Cité Mirroir' project- Triangle Architectes et Bureau d’études Pierre Beugnier et associés sa Fabian Gérardy, Pascal Jacques en Thierry Moxhet - was launched, with the aim of turning it into a cultural and permanent educational place for citizenship, memory and dialogue between cultures. It must accommodate theater, music, lectures, debates, workshops, permanent and temporary exhibitions. The completely renovated building has a theater hall, a specialized media library, a specialized bookstore, conference and debate rooms, a cafeteria and permanent and temporary exhibition spaces.. The opening took place on January 14, 2014.