The Maison De La Région Poitou-Charentes, from Is Origins to the Present

The Maison de la Région Poitou-Charentes from its origins to the present day

The buildings today comprising the Maison de la Région cover an area stretching in the most central part of Poitiers and in the highest point of the city’s promontory: the “plateau”, hemmed in between the Boivre and the Clain rivers. The city’s history can be traced from Antiquity through the numerous buildings that mark Poitiers’ occupation; these buildings include the church, Notre-Dame la Grande and the dukes’ palace. The Jacobin convent was also established here in the Middle Ages. After undergoing many changes, the building was taken over for education purposes in 1842, became Saint-Stanislas school in 1905 until 1980 and finally home to the Maison de la Région.

1 The current site of the Maison de la Région in Poitiers (buildings in green and pink) wit hin the former Jacobin perimeter

3 2

4 5

1 Building constructed between 1714 and 1716 (ESCEM).

College chapel built in 1886 (Maison de la Région, Estimated perimeter of the Quebec building). Jacobean compound f rom the Medieval period. Maison de la Région buildings. Site of archeological excavation f rom Jacobean church destroyed at 1983 to 1998. the beginning of the 19th century.

Roads forming the site perimeter

La rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie formerly opening onto the Impasse des 3 La rue de la Cathédrale. 1 Jacobins on the east side, which disappeared in 1922. La rue Arsène Orillard, La rue du Marché-Notre-Dame: 4 formerlyRue des Juifs, then Rue du Gervis-Vert. the section betw een the current 2 addresses, 31 Rue du Marché-Notre- The former Rue du Pont-Neuf, now Rue Jean- Dame and 15 Rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie 5 Jaurès gradually advanced in sections into the was called Rue des Jacobins until 1895. heart of this island betw een 1810 and 1852.

2 Origins

The first signs of occupation of the site date back to a period between the 1st and 4th centuries BC inclusive. This area is within a perimeter dating from the Late Roman Empire (around 200-476 AD) about 200 metres from the Roman walls. Two roads run alongside it, the current Rue Arsène- Orillard having provided vital access to the ancient town.

Gallo-Roman remains

In 1886, Père de La Croix, a famous archaeologist from Poitiers, discovered a cistern during the construction of a chapel, later to become the Quebec building of the Maison de la Région. In 1922 and 1929 remains were found beneath Rue de l'Eperon and Rue de l'Ancienne-Comédie of walls, paving, pillars, pieces of marble, porphyry and glass, fragments of pottery, vases, amphoras, engravings and a statuette of a w oman.

In 1983, an ancient dwelling inhabited between the 1st and 4th centuries AD was uncovered between the Rue de l’Ancienne- Comédie and the Quebec building at the site of the current entrance court of the Maison de la Région. It w as particularly interesting for its two basement rooms, used for the building’s heating system (this A praefurnium (pipe for channelling fuel) discovered in type of room, a hypocaust, was especially found in Roman baths). 1983 in an ancient dwelling. It was dismantled and reassembled The building also had a private shrine with its own podium or altar. at the Sainte-Croix museum, Poitiers. The upper part of a statue of the goddess of abundance was also discovered, which had very probably been on the podium. Discoveries were also made in the shrine of two statuettes, one of the goddess Epona on horseback and the other of Venus emerging from her bath. All these statuettes are in the Sainte-Croix museum in Poitiers. The last items to be revealed included an oil lamp, around sixty coins, pieces of pottery and painted fragments.

In 1998 whilst extension work was being carried out on the Maison de la Région (the future Galice building), a new excavation unearthed other remains: walls with marble fragments, shards of pottery and painted decorative items that may date from the second half of the 2nd century. Charred remains show that a fire destroyed this building during the 3rd century.

Ancient statue of the goddess of abundance, discovered during the 1983 excavations. Sainte-Croix museum, Poitiers.

3 The Middle Ages and Renaissance: the Jacobin compound

A rich history

Between the 3rd and 11th centuries, the site was successively occupied and abandoned. In 1025, a parish

church dedicated to Saint Christopher is mentioned in this spot, surrounded by vineyards known as the Vicane vineyards.

The Jacobins arrived in Poitiers in 1219. Their order had just been created in response to the renewal and reform of the religious orders. The mission of the Jacobins, also called mendicants, friar preachers or Dominicans, was to preach the gospel and to serve the poor. Since they settled in towns and cities, they knew the inhabitants, knew all about local life and therefore acted as mediators with the powers in authority.

When they arrived in Poitiers, the cathedral chapter and the mayor, Hilaire Berland, offered them the church of Saint-Christophe, ideally positioned in the town not far Demolition work in 1922 and 1929 revealed this 13th century church doorway at no.9 Rue de from the ducal palace, Notre-Dame-la-Grande, the shops l’Ancienne-Comédie. After being cleaned and and the town’s trading centre. The convent was given the moved further south to no.11, the doorway was name of Saint-Christophe and the number of friars grew moved again during construction of the Maison de rapidly. Thanks to financial and land donations from la Région behind the main entrance to no.15 where it may be seen today. benefactors, some of whom were highly ranked such as the queen Blanche of Castile, mother of the king St. Louis, they were able to spread out around the church. The convent grounds or “compound” expanded gradually to reach the perimeters defined by the current roads, l’Ancienne-Comédie, Marché-Notre-Dame, Rue de la Cathédrale and Arsène-Orillard.

In 1231, the bishop had a larger church built for the brothers in the compound. The old Saint-Christophe church was changed into a chapter house and refectory on the ground floor, and dormitory above, accessed by an outside staircase attached to the chevet, or apse. An even larger third church was built between 1249 and 1254. This is almost certainly where the two remains still visible today come from, the apse and the church doorway.

The chevet, or apse, of the 12th century Jacobin church has been preserved in ESCEM, the management and business school The upper section of the apse can be seen today alongside the staircase, made of freestone with its gable wall and three tall, narrow openings. Below, in the current parking area, is the base of the wall, also built in freestone

4 In 1307, the Jacobins took in King Philippe le Bel, who had come to Poitiers with pope Clement V to try and condemn the Templars and seize their possessions. In 1356, after the Battle of Maupertuis, also mentioned on the facing plaque, the bodies of the victims were buried in the Jacobin and local Franciscan churches. In 1429, when Joan of Arc was brought to Poitiers for “interrogation” to find out whether she could pursue her mission, Guillaume Seguin, a Jacobin, was one of the interrogators. Two years later, the reputation of the Jacobins grew even greater when Pope Eugene IV chose their The meeting of King Philippe le Bel and Pope Clement V in convent as the seat of the University of Poitiers. Poitiers is commemorated by a plaque mounted at the Five subjects were taught at the time: arts and crossroads of Rue Jean-Jaurès and Rue des Grandes- literature, canon law, civil law, medicine and Ecoles in the 20th century. theology. At its height, the university was attended by four thousand students from the whole of Europe. Its popularity declined after 1608 and the creation by Henry IV of the Jesuit school, now the Collège Henri-IV.

Numerous remains have been revealed throughout the 19th and 20th centuries attributed to this period when the Jacobins played an important role in the history of Poitiers. Former pupils of the Saint-Stanislas school remember the discovery of the friars’ cemetery beneath the chapel built in 1886 (now the Quebec building) as well as cloister arches, uncovered at the back of a courtyard and in the masonry of the main staircase at ESCEM. In 1929, part of a 14th century window with traces of blue and red paintwork and the torso of a red-painted statuette were found. Finally, the 1983 excavations unearthed a medieval well and a cellar.

The interior of the compound and church

We know about the 14th century interior of the compound and church features (chapels, statues, relief carvings, etc.) not only through the numerous archaeological discoveries but also through written documentation. For example, the list of knights that died during the battle of Maupertuis and were buried in the church in 1356 mentions the cloister, a chapter house (with one window and stalls), a dormitory, kitchens, a well and the cemetery. This list also shows the existence of chapels: the Madeleine, the Apôtres (apostles), the Sainte Vierge (Blessed Virgin); of a large altar close to the pool (the baptismal fonts), another altar to Saint Dominique, choir stalls, a statue of Saint Michel, another of Christ in majesty, a crucifix and a lectern; statues of the Sainte Vierge and Saint Dominique were found in the cloister. Other chapels and altars were built over the years: the Sainte- Marguerite chapel (for the tailors), Notre-Dame de Pitié, the Trinité, the Rosaire, an altar dedicated to Saint Pierre of Verona, himself a Jacobin and canonized in 1253. An organ was mentioned in 1458, but in very poor condition.

Finally, the Jacobins’ church contained the richly decorated tomb of the last Count of Lusignan, Gui or Guyard. When admitting his will to probate in October 1309, the count specified that he wished to be buried in this church in front of the great altar in a tomb identical to the one that had been provided for his brother, Hugues in the abbey of Valence near Couhé. In his Annales d’Aquitaine, Jean Bouchet describes this tomb as “a rich burial place, embossed in yellow copper and richly enamelled".

5 Renaissance sculptures

Sculptures dating from the Renaissance were also discovered during the 1929 excavations. They were moved to Rue Jean- Jaurès to the left of the 13th century gateway. Photographs were taken prior to 1965 and again in 1983, but the sculptures have since disappeared. There were seven relief sculptures each presenting a central theme (human head, lion, plants, scroll) carved inside a diamond-shape and surrounded with leaves, buds, shells, winged heads and hearts. Although the iconography of these relief carvings is reminiscent of those found at the castle of Bonnivet in Vendeuvre, they have been One of the Renaissance relief much more roughly made. carvings that has since disappeared.

The 1922 excavations also uncovered “in a wall adjacent to the church apse” a 16th century stone relief carving currently in the Sainte-Croix museum in Poitiers. This relief of Christ bearing the cross is almost certainly a fragment of a monumental rood screen depicting scenes from the Passion and bought by the Jacobins during the restoration of the convent of the neighbouring friars, Cordeliers friars. In the bottom right hand corner of the carving is a representation of the shroud of the Holy face held by a very small, kneeling Sainte Véronique, whose effigy is badly damaged. The city of Jerusalem is depicted at the top of the relief in a line curving to the right.

Finally, sections of the compound doorway, also from the 16th century, were still to be seen in 1846, when they were described by Bellin de La Liborlière in his Vieux souvenirs du Poitiers d’avant 1789: “You can still see at the corner of the Rue d’Orléans [now Rue Jean-Jaurès], its current name after three or four changes, a fluted Doric pilaster, topped with the remains of an entablature with a frieze decorated with triglyphs: this was one of the jambs of a great rounded door leading from The 16th century stone relief representing the Bearing of the street to a courtyard on the right of which was the cross is kept at the Sainte-Croix museum in Poitiers. the entrance to the monastery in which the monks ran a theology school affiliated to the University. Opposite the great door and down a few steps was the church door”. This pilaster is mentioned again in 1930 as being at the corner of the Rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie and Rue Jean-Jaurès.

6 Wars of religion to the Revolution: a new convent

A weakened but wealthy institution

The first conflicts between Catholics and Protestants between 1559 and 1562 began the sacking and destruction of the Jacobin convent. The Lusignan tomb was destroyed in 1562; the church was seriously damaged. It does however appear to be intact in the 1619 depiction by François Nautré of Poitiers in 1569 at the time of the siege led by Coligny.

Jacobins

Painting by Nautré (1619) representing the siege of Poitiers by the admiral of Coligny in 1569, held in the Sainte-Croix museum in Poitiers.

This picture shows a six-bay church with a single nave and flat apse. It has a tiled roof except for the spire which is slate-covered. The east-facing apse receives light through a huge bay; two buttresses punctuate the northern external wall. The compound, planted with trees and containing modest buildings, is separated from the rest of the island on the north side by a high wall and bordered on the east side by the Rue de la Juiverie (Arsène-Orillard); to the south can be seen the curve of the Rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie, above which and a little to the west is depicted Saint-Porchaire. If the building is positioned relative to the Cordeliers friars' church, a church whose remains have been preserved in the shopping centre of the same name, it is possible to see that it could have stood in the western stretch of the current Rue Jean-Jaurès. This representation may be compared with one of the views of Poitiers by Gaignières in 1699 which shows the tiled roof, the slate spire and two buttresses, as seen from the western side of the church.

7 Remains from the 17th century

In spite of these disruptions, the Jacobin convent remained an important institution in Poitiers in the 17th century, judging by the remains from this period that have now been taken elsewhere or have disappeared. These remains include a painting of the Rosary, hung in the Saint-Sacrement chapel in the Saint- Pierre cathedral in Poitiers, a carved door that has now disappeared and a tombstone held in the Sainte-Croix museum, Poitiers.

Against the background of the Counter- Reformation, Louis XIII reaffirmed the worship of the Virgin Mary and introduced the worship of the Rosary, for which the Jacobins created numerous brotherhoods. In 1616, the king and his wife Anne of Austria stopped in Poitiers on their return from their marriage in Bordeaux. The painting of the Institution du Rosaire possibly dates from this period. As in many painting depicting this subject, we see the king The Jean Bardou retable, commissioned in 1671 and and queen kneeling amongst other characters originally in the former Jacobin church, in the Saint- including saints, the pope, cardinals and Sacrement chapel of Poitiers cathedral. bishops. This painting is inset into the retable commissioned by the Jacobins on 29th November 1671 and created by the carpenter and sculptor, Jean Bardou. The huge retable hangs between two classic pillars and depicts many of the saints venerated by the Jacobins: Agnes of Montepulciano or Rose of Lima, Catherine of Siena, Pius V, Thomas of Aquin, Hyacinthe, Antonin, Peter of Verona, Saint Sébastien and Saint Roch.

An ancient 17th century carved wooden door was hung in the 13th century doorway discovered during the 1929 excavations and re-built into new buildings. The upper section was missing and rebuilt by Georges Brix, sculptor and arts professor at the Arts College and Saint-Stanislas school.

Finally, a 1684 tombstone held in the Sainte-Croix museum in Poitiers was uncovered in 1869 during the building alteration works to create a teaching establishment. It bears the following inscription translated from Latin: “These three monuments were built for tombs on the ides [13th] of December in the year of our Lord 1684 by R P F Jean Bacou P G educated at this convent may he rest in peace amen”.

This photograph reveals the existence of the carved 17th century door, disappeared during building work from 1983-1986.

8 The final decades of the Jacobin convent

Between 1714 and 1716, possibly because of reinforcing the religious policy of the ruling power, new buildings were erected in the Jacobin compound. One of these was a huge U-shaped building, now housing ESCEM. The gable of the south wing bears the completion date of 1716. The main staircase also dates from this period, when it was attached to the apse of the medieval church. The bishop of Poitiers, Monseigneur de La Poype de Vertrieu, laid the first stone of the building on 22nd March 1716. The architect was Fontaine, th The main staircase, built at the beginning of the 18 century from Bordeaux; he quickly ceded his in the building that is now ESCEM. position to a colleague from Poitou, Bellet, who killed himself during the works. Inside, as can be seen in these photographs from the end of the 20th century, there were large rooms, one of which was let to the convent by the university for its assemblies; another was used for archives and another, called Saint Côme and Saint Damien, was the surgeons’ common room. The symbolic star of the Jacobins may be seen in several places.

The timberwork in the north building in 1984 The roof timbers in the ESCEM before work started… building today.

By 1789, there were only about six or seven monks living on the site. At the beginning of the Revolution, the convent was the seat of the Jacobin club as in Paris, but was turned into barracks in 1791. During the Terror, it was a prison. It was in 1792 that the retable and painting of the Rosary were taken to the cathedral. The Jacobins were chased out of Poitiers and only returned in 1867 to the site of the current Pasteur hospital near the Saint-Cyprien bridge. In 1794, some of the rooms of their former convent were taken over to lodge the city’s seven schoolteachers. In 1798, the buildings were bought by a property speculator who partially destroyed them and the decision was taken in 1799 to build a new road, the future Rue Jean- Jaurès, through the middle of the church ruins.

9 From primary school to secondary school

It was not until 1842 that the buildings still in existence were acquired by the philanthropist, Charles Dupont, for the foundation of the school, Saint- Vincent-de-Paul.

A few years later in 1850, the Falloux law restored freedom to catholic education. In 1852, the bishop of Poitiers, Monseigneur Pie, acquired this school and turned it into a diocesan establishment. In 1854, he handed its management over to the Jesuits who had returned officially to France after being chased out in 1762 (the Gesù chapel, currently in Rue Edouard-Grimaux, was built for the Jesuits). However, the lack of space quickly became evident: in 1855, a library had to be built in a neighbouring house.

In 1857, the Saint-Joseph school (now in Boulevard de Lattre-de- Tassigny) was founded and the Jesuit school moved in on 4th July 1860. The hospitaller nuns then took up residence in the deserted This advertisement from 1875 shows several buildings including the Jacobin Jacobin premises. They left eight convent of 1714-1716 which has been extended from a U-shape to an H- years later for the former Sainte- shape, with its inner courtyard and gardens, at the corner of the Rue Jean- Croix abbey down the Rue Jean- Jaurès and the Rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie. A passage, the Impasse des Jaurès. Jacobins, provided access to a room open to all for acts of charity.

On 2nd October 1869, another order, the Christian school brethren, moved in. They had arrived in Poitiers in 1818 and taught in several places in the city, all of which they had rapidly outgrown. The new establishment was for primary age children and had boarding facilities; the building work was led by the architect, Jean-Baptiste Perlat. The building was turned provisionally into barracks during the 1870-1871 war, but was then restored to its teaching function.

A chapel for the school of the Christian schools brethren

On 2nd August 1881, following decrees of 29th March 1880 forcing the closure of religious congregations, the Collège Saint-Joseph run by the Jesuits split up into several small institutions. One of these was set up at 13 Rue de l’Ancienne- Comédie. Educational The chapel constructed in 1886 and photographed in 1929 activities were also by Hélène Plessis. continued at the school of the Christian schools brethren, whose premises were constantly being extended and improved. The most major architectural change was in the construction by the architect, Alcide Stained glass Boutaud, of a chapel in the south extension of the main body of the 1714 convent. window depicting Work proceeded rapidly: it started on 8th March 1886, the first stone was blessed Sainte Radegonde. on 16th May and the first mass was celebrated on 19th December. The chapel was dedicated to the Immaculate Conception as part of the Marian revival movement initiated by the apparitions in Lourdes in 1858, and the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in decembre 8th 1854.

Photographs taken during the 1980s enable us to see what the outside and inside of this chapel looked like one hundred years after its construction and before being converted into meeting rooms (the current Quebec building). The entrance opens onto a gallery supported Floor detail. by eight pillars. There is a single nave with cement floor, decorated from the gallery to the choir with a strip of coloured mosaic work.

Light is shed on the nave and choir through eleven stained glass windows created by the Bordeaux stained glass artist, Dagrand. He and the architect, Boutaud, signed their work on the two stained glass windows closest to the choir. Seven of these windows depict characters connected to Poitiers or to Christian youth education: Sainte Radegonde, Saint Vincent de Paul, Saint The chapel photographed in 1984. Hilaire, the Immaculate Conception, Saint It has since been converted into meeting rooms (current Quebec building). Charles Borromée, the Venerable Jean- Stained glass Baptiste de La Salle and Saint Louis de Gonzague. The other windows are window. decorated with small floral and geometric designs.

11 The carved decoration is Neo-roman in style. The columns and pedestals of the gallery, nave and choir are crowned with capitals carved with stylized plants (pine cones, grapes, palm leaves, ears of wheat, acanthus), animals (cat, monkeys, fox or ermine and birds) and fantastical elements (gnome and masks).

Capital decorated with a lion, now disappeared.

In 1888 work was undertaken to create new courtyards, a caretaker’s lodge, dormitories, an infirmary, a linen room, an exercise room (religious) –which later became a theatre– and a chapel for the congregation of the Sainte Vierge. Improvement works on the boarding facilities continued until 1892.

The theatre beneath the chapel. Postcard

Institution dedicated to Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle

In 1902, the establishment celebrated its sixtieth anniversary. The bishop, Monseigneur Pelgé, in his desire to “promote and develop the worship principally of those saints who offered guidelines for the education and instruction of Christian youth”, dedicated the institution to Saint Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, founder of the Christian schools brethren and who had just been canonized. A statue of the saint stood in the centre of the inner façade of the building, constructed from 1714-1716, beneath a clock created by Lussault, craftsman from Marçay (Vienne), “looking out over the whole building and the play ground”.

The building façade constructed at The statue of the saint is now held in ESCEM. the beginning of the 18th century, It is made of reinforced terra cotta, but is not signed. photographed in 1982: the clock As in the stained glass window in the chapel, the can be seen above the statue of The frontage today. Saint’s hand is resting on a pupil’s shoulder. the saint, both added in 1902. 12 Saint-Stanislas school

Two years later, the law of 7th July 1904 prohibited religious congregations from teaching. On 1st December of the same year, the chapel was closed to the public; its decorations and furniture were sold. On 1st September 1905, under the law separating Church from State, the boarding school was closed as well as three other establishments run by the Christian schools’ brethren in Poitiers. They did nonetheless continue teaching on the other side of the street at no.8, Rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie under the name of the Saint-Stanislas boarding school in premises acquired and quickly fitted out by the Poitou Société immobilière (property company). The

establishment has retained its saint’s name to this day. In 1907, the establishment returned to its former premises; the monks were replaced as teachers by priests from the diocese. There are many postcards dating from this time that show the buildings, courtyards and the chapel, with children wearing caps decorated with the Dominican star or the star of the Immaculate Conception.

Gateway to the Saint-Stanislas school, 8 Rue The buildings underwent few changes until 1914; some statues de l’Ancienne-Comédie, from 1905 to 1907. were added, including in particular in 1907, the statue of the Postcard photograph by Maurice Couvrat. Immaculate Conception. It is almost certainly this statue that may be seen on an upturned capital in the garden of the Maison de la Région at the end of the passage opening onto Rue Jean-Jaurès. New ornaments were also placed in the chapel, with for example a statue of Joan of Arc in 1909.

Saint-Stanislas school, postcard from 1905, photograph Maurice Couvrat. Left: the chapel; right: U-shaped buildings built from 1714-1716.

13 During the Great War, the school was used as a hospital.

Between 1922 and 1929, the Société immobilière du Poitou, as owners of the site, undertook major extension works. It was during this period that the main archaeological discoveries were made. The Impasse des Jacobins, leading to the theatre beneath the chapel, was bought up by the city along with the surrounding houses. A four-storey wing was constructed in their place by the company In 1965 a plaque was erected close to the top of Rue Jean-Jaurès in Ligaud, to accommodate in particular a honour of Canon Duret, priest, philosopher, poet and teacher, who died refectory. The former refectory became a in German captivity in 1943. It has since been moved to ESCEM to the meeting room called the Salle Saint-Fortunat. left of the former entrance door to the chapel. This building disappeared when work was undertaken to create the Maison de la Région.

From 1939-1940, the school was once again used as a hospital.

In 1955, the establishment joined up with the Saint-Joseph school, soon being called Les Feuillants. In 1958, the chapel was “modernised” and the statues were removed. In 1963, prefabricated buildings were set up in the courtyards and old gardens. The remaining courtyards were tarmacked. The following year, the theatre beneath the chapel was knocked down for safety reasons and the main staircase of the 1714-1716 building was rebuilt. The lack of space in the premises led to moving the establishment, planned for 1973 but took place in 1980. The Saint-Stanislas school then rejoined the diocesan ownership of Porteau, where there already existed the college of the same name.

Today: the Maison de la Région

Having occupied its position for one and a half centuries, the school establishment left an urban void in its place. The decision was quickly made to designate it an urban development zone (zone d’aménagement concerté). A car park was completed in August 1983 and building work on the Maison de la Région, initially called the Hôtel de Région, commenced in October 1984. The building was completed in March 1986, occupied in September and inaugurated on 13th June 1987.

Built in Chauvigny stone, metal and glass, the buildings are arranged around The Maison de la Région as it is today. Main entrance between the a courtyard and garden, with the 1886 Irlande and Cornouailles buildings. chapel occupying the central area.

14 The names of the buildings were chosen by staff from the Antoine Grumbach, Architect region based on a world theme and journey across the countries of Europe: Ecosse (Scotland) is on the other side Born in 1942, Antoine Grumbach of the Rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie, then beyond Irlande demonstrated a keen interest in (Ireland) and Cornouailles (Cornwall) is Compostelle; Galice urban architecture and the (Galicia), Andalousie (Andalusia) and Castille (Castile) relationships created betw een individuals through the urban enclose the area around Quebec, which was the former phenomenon. He bases his chapel. Recent developments bear the name of the streets restorations and constructions on the they are on: Jean-Jaurès and Orillard. A pedestrian walkway history of the places they are built in runs down the hill linking the Rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie and retains what can be saved of and the Rue Jean-Jaurès. The Rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie the old buildings. During the 1980s is so narrow that it was not possible to create a view: a he designed and saw through to glazed aerial walkway was built slightly behind between the completion several urban structural buildings of Cornouailles and Irlande; it represents a large improvements and was involved in arch, opening sideways onto the main courtyard and directs the construction of many institutional the eye to the central part of the site, this being the Quebec buildings, for example the building assembly room in the old chapel. The ground headquarters of the Poitiers regional slopes steeply away from the building to give it prominence office of infrastructure (DDE). He is and dramatic presence. Further down, another passage built currently professor of architecture at where the chapel’s gallery once was, leads to an open area the national architectural college in and a second courtyard. Paris-Belleville. In keeping with the archaeological remains found in the main courtyard, much use is made of the column. They follow the line of the paths and extend the effects of perspective. Amongst the old buildings restored and enhanced by the architect, the 18th century convent now houses ESCEM. As for the chapel, it has been divided into four horizontal levels, of which the main floor is used as the assembly room. There are offices below and meeting rooms above, from which emerge the upper arches of the former nave; there is also a reception room. The last meeting room at the choir end (the Pierre-Loti room) is designed to offer a close view of the old capitals of the bays that have also been preserved. The reception room opens onto a terrace which is the old choir; the terrace overlooks the southern part of the city.

Next to these preserved remains, Antoine Grumbach has designed a self-supporting spiral staircase in the Cornouailles building; this provides access to the glazed arch passage. It is made from one single block of concrete in the style of the winding stairs seen in the medieval times.

The union of contemporary architectural design with a desire to pay homage to the site’s history is achieved through three major features: the curved lines of bays and architectural shapes, the colour of the marble materials, the natural or finished woods and View of the Maison de la Région as it is today: left, the stone and the light and transparency reflected Irlande building and right, the doorway from the old by the metal and glass surfaces. Jacobin church.

Illustrations: (unless otherwise mentioned) © Région Poitou-Charentes, inventaire général du patrimoine culturel (cultural heritage archives) / authors : G. Beauvarlet, A. Dagorn, M. Deneyer, R. Jean and C. Rome for the photography, Zoé Lambert for the drawings.

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