The Moulin d’Anguitard Cultural Centre
Chasseneuil-du-Poitou
Rehabilitation of the Moulin d'Anguitard
and creation of a cultural centre
With its rich industrial past dating back to the nineteenth century, the Moulin d’Anguitard is situated in an undeniably striking landscape, between the Clain River and the mill’s own race. Its location at the entrance to town increases its visibility and explains its successful transformation into a cultural centre in the 1970s. The municipal administration decided to modernise and extend its spaces in 2017 to provide more space for the music school and the various organisations devoted to music, dance, theatre, and other creative pursuits, all the while restoring the buildings’ original character and aspect. In addition to the rehearsal spaces, the cultural centre now also boasts an exhibition and reception space and an auditorium. We decided to build the extension on the upper floor instead of on the ground level for functional and structural reasons, but mainly to respect the environment of the Clain River.
History
Appearing in the 1810 land register, this water mill initially used to grind wheat was then transformed into a flour mill less than a century later. The town acquired the buildings and commissioned the architect André Serreau. (Source) to transform them into a cultural centre in the period from 1977 to 1981.
The various buildings are the result of the progressive extensions made during the nineteenth century, evidence of the mill’s growth and transformation into an industrial facility.
Construction
The worksite combined a rehabilitation and a raising of the structure, using both traditional and modern construction techniques: mixed flooring made of wood and concrete or metal and concrete, and a whitewash and zinc cladding for the façades.
The materiality of this decidedly contemporary intervention evokes the mill’s industrial heritage.
