LA PISCINE - MUSÉE D'ART ET D'INDUSTRIE ANDRÉ DILIGENT DE ROUBAIX

If you are invited to go to the Piscine in Roubaix, don't think about taking a dip! This swimming pool converted into a museum is a jewel of Art Deco. It is also a unique place because, at its origin in 1932, it allowed to offer a place of hygiene to workers living then in sometimes difficult conditions. It appears then as an innovative project combining political and social. Albert Baert, its architect from Lille, designed it in a neo-Byzantine spirit. He used the plan of the Cistercian abbeys with a large central cloister garden, lit by magnificent stained glass windows symbolizing the rising and setting sun. A place of hygiene but also of leisure, mixing all social classes, La Piscine even hosts a hairdressing salon, steam baths and an industrial laundry. For the inhabitants of Roubaix, La Piscine is often the only place to go out in a city which knows a strong social fracture. It was open for more than fifty years before having to close its doors because its vault became too fragile (to the great regret of many inhabitants). It was only in 2001 that it reopened with a new project: to become a museum. Its basin transformed into a sculpture garden and its shower cabins converted into showcases make it a place as grandiose as it is unusual. The collections were quickly expanded with a strong attraction for this new place from the City and the Cercle des Entreprises Mécènes de La Piscine. Expanded in 2018, the museum continues to attract thousands of visitors to admire its collections. Ceramics, earthenware, decorative arts, textiles, paintings and sculptures are sublimated there. Upon entering, one is struck by the preserved style of some of the changing rooms and showers, as well as the old pool. Not to be missed: the Panorama of the Grand-Place of Roubaix and the reconstitution of the workshop of the sculptor Henri Bouchard. The Parcours des Sens by Christian Astuguevieille is also remarkable. We discover the museum differently through sensory experiences. There, you can hear the sound of bathers while elsewhere you can pick up a small scented paper that immediately immerses you in the atmosphere of a work. La Piscine is also three annual seasons of surprising exhibitions, unusual visits, workshops and many other events to experience art differently. The website presents in detail the agenda of the festivities. All you need to do to prepare your visit and make it a great moment of artistic discovery. Not to be missed!