Guided Tour

Two major volumes compose the Foundation: radially different architectures, but connected by an intermediate volume of lesser height, each corresponds to a set of particular functions.

Facing the city, the main building which rises over 30 m with its solemn and imposing frontage. It houses directional functions, information storage and processing equipment, as well as most administrative and technical services. Its reception floor is connected to the level of the gardens by a monumental external ramp: the access of honor.
On the frontage, through the intermediary of the connecting building, the congress building of a more technical form opens, revealing the presence of a large amphitheater in its center. More rounded, less elevated, widely open on the outside by a network of sheltered corridors, it offers a convivial image that is a majestic counterpart to the main building. To this duality of volume corresponds the duality of function revealed by interior design: silence and study have their place in the Foundation, as well as speech and exchange.

The directional floor includes the office of the President of the Foundation, the Vice-Presidents' Office, the Council Chamber, the VIP Lounge and 28 offices for mission officers. A second set (1,800 m², 11 offices and 2 meeting rooms) is reserved for the external organizers for each of the congresses and events that will be hosted by the Foundation.

The interior decor: beyond the fashions and facilities of the moment

The decorative side, both luxurious and discreet, plays with few and very simple patterns, giving the whole a powerful and refined harmonic unity. The selected materials come from all over the world: rare essences, dyes, stretched carpets, marbles of all origins, compose a silent symphony of shapes (geometric) and colours (warm). The decor varies subtly according to the place: solemn or intimate, severe or warm, depending on whether the space will be one of silence, study or exchange.

The care that appears in the choice and implementation of the decoration, certainly testifies to a very sure taste but above all it shows the will to make this building a lasting one: the Foundation was wanted on the fringes of time.

All form of meetings, from the most formal to the most private, from the most solemn to the most informal, are able to be welcomed thanks to the extreme diversity of the spaces: amphitheatres, meeting rooms, committee rooms, lounges and rooms Of reception, unmarked offices are distributed in the two main buildings. All the connections between these spaces are grouped in the intermediate building, consisting of two superimposed patios, bordered by corridors. Escalators, escalators and lifts provide vertical connections.

The vocation of exchange of the building is confirmed by the existence of 4 entrances arranged at the 4 cardinal points. The internal telecommunication network covers all the premises. All meeting rooms are soundproofed, the most important are designed to accommodate complete audio-visual equipment. The amphitheatres are equipped with a simultaneous translation system that can accommodate up to 8 different languages, as well as a scenographic machine allowing all types of performances.

Access to information, whether current or historical, has also been privileged: 8,800 m² in total have been reserved to accommodate collection, storage and consumption equipment. This "Memory of Peace" comes in three forms: the book, the computer and the exhibition.

The book occupies an entire floor of the main building: 5,200 m² of library including reading room, storage rooms, meeting rooms, workshops for restoration of works and offices.

The computer system is on the lower floor, the total of which - 3,600 m² - has been allocated to it. This system consists of servers capable of disseminating the author and summarizing the entire documentary background available on the Internet.

An exhibition hall of 530 m² is dedicated to permanent or temporary exhibitions.

The difusion of information, that which will be produced locally or that which will be archived there, can not be forgotten in a place where history must take place: all the premises needed for professionals in the world press have been planned and sized To accommodate the equipment they need: room and press offices (600 m²), studios and radio and television booths, projection booths, reprographic rooms, etc.

The distribution of the documentary background is made on the global computer network Internet by the computer system of the Foundation. For the books available, the system contains the following information: The author, the date of publication, the date of publication, the photograph of the cover and a summary of the document.