La Mécanique Générale

Some information and key figures

• Total area: 4,518 m²

• Exhibition space area: 2,928 m²

• Use: exhibition and works spaces.

• Opening: 2016

History and initial purpose

La Mécanique Générale was originally a large workshop dedicated to mechanical works and machines repairs.

Built at the same time as the Parc des Ateliers, the building, formerly called an assembly workshop, was transformed in the 1940s and became La Mécanique Générale. This large workshop with modern machine tools was described as large, well-lit, and heated in winter by warm-air blowers.

At the time, La Mécanique Générale comprised a repair center for machine tools and equipment, as well as a workshop for repairing electric winding motors. The usual mechanical work was mostly done there.

Building renovation

La Mécanique Générale was the second building renovated by Selldorf Architects. Completed in 2016, the redesign was nearly finished and aimed to transform the space into a flexible and modular environment.

Cut open following a fire in 1986, La Mécanique Générale required an almost total redesign to be transformed into an exhibition space.

Since the idea was to create a flexible space while preserving the heart and soul of the place, some elements of its original industrial architecture have been kept, such as the steel columns and consoles, as well as the concrete floors.

To facilitate the exhibition of monumental works, a modern extension offering a height of 20 meters without columns. The black concrete façade and zinc roof of the extension contrast with the renovated stucco façade and the new tiled roof of the historic structure.

Today

Inaugurated in 2016, the building now consists of a modular space hosting exhibitions and performances, as well as a workspace.

Opened to the public in 2016, the building of La Mécanique Générale has a total area of 4,518 m², including 2,928 m² dedicated to exhibitions, performances or representations.

Exhibitions and events at La Mécanique Générale

In 2016, the exhibition Systematically Open? New Forms of Production of the Contemporary Image—featuring Walead Beshty, Elad Lassry, Zanele Muholi, and Collier Schorr—was presented alongside Colored Sculpture by Jordan Wolfson.

Two years later, the space hosted Gilbert & George: The Great Exhibition (1971–2016), a major retrospective produced by LUMA. In 2019, A School of Schools: Design as Learning was presented, an exhibition exploring contemporary pedagogies of design.

In 2021, Prelude brought together Sophia Al Maria, Kapwani Kiwanga, P. Staff, and Jakob Kudsk Steensen. The following year, Arthur Jafa presented Live Evil, a monumental exhibition combining films, sculptures, and installations.

In 2023, The Shape of Things by Carrie Mae Weems offered a visual reflection on history, memory, and representation. In 2024, William Kentridge presented Je n'attends plus and in 2025, La Mécanique Générale hosted Phantom Day and Stranger Tales by artist Ho Tzu Nyen.

A section of La Mécanique Générale is dedicated to the Rencontres d’Arles, which hosts exhibitions there each summer.