uv lab reimagines arcadia as a layered timber agora in lyon

UV Lab’s Wooden Installation Reframes Public Space in Lyon

Installed at Les SUBS in Lyon, ARCADIA by UV Lab is a site-responsive architectural installation developed as a long-term project unfolding between 2025 and 2027. Conceived as both a public structure and an evolving spatial environment, the wooden installation reinterprets the historical idea of Arcadia through a contemporary urban context. The project was realized in collaboration with students from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (ENSBA).

Drawing from the ancient Greek concept of Arcadia as a place of refuge and collective gathering, the project examines the relationship between ecological thinking, public space, and social coexistence within the city. Rather than functioning as a static object, ARCADIA operates as an inhabitable framework composed of terraces, balconies, elevated platforms, and circulation paths that encourage movement through the structure.

The installation does not present a singular frontal facade or fixed viewpoint. Its spatial organization unfolds gradually through ascent, circulation, and changing perspectives. Visitors move through layered sequences of platforms and openings that frame views toward the Saône River and the Fourvière hill while simultaneously directing attention toward material textures, shadow conditions, and the immediate spatial atmosphere.

all images courtesy of UV Lab

Wooden Platforms and Open Balconies construct ARCADIA

The structure reaches a height of approximately ten meters and continuously shifts in perception depending on proximity, light conditions, and movement through the site. Openings within the framework allow wind, sound, and public activity to become integrated elements of the architectural experience.

Designed as a transformable structure, ARCADIA is composed of modular elements intended to be assembled, modified, disassembled, and reconfigured over the course of its three-year duration. This adaptability allows the installation to accommodate multiple forms of occupation, including performances, gatherings, temporary retreat, and informal public use, without prescribing a singular function.

The project was developed in collaboration with students from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, reflecting UV Lab Studio’s approach to architecture as a collective and participatory process. Through its evolving structure and open-ended program, ARCADIA positions public space as a shared environment shaped by interaction, transformation, and coexistence over time.

site-responsive wooden installation is positioned at Les SUBS in Lyon