Urban development

By settling on the grounds of the old Manufacture d’Armes in St.Etienne, the internationally orientated Cité du Design has an intimate connection with the local city characteristics. St. Etienne has traditionally always been connected with design and production and it now has a special contextual relation to the Cité.

photo: © Artefactory, Paris / LIN, Finn Geipel + Giulia Andi, Berlin

Then there is the actual Manufacture itself which embodies the industrial heritage of the city; unique to this city is the fact that the topography of the area once meant that large factories were built in very close proximity to the city centre and public areas.