Lyon's Unique Underground Car Park
Written by David Eaves   
Wednesday, 08 July 2009 11:25

Situated outside the Théâtre des Célestins in Lyon, in a newly renovated square by the name of Place des Célestins, is an inverted periscope which offers a unique view of what is usually a very mundane facility.

Celestins

Image Credit: Flickr User Manuela Martin

Celestins

Image Credit: Picasa User Guy

What you're seeing as you peek through the viewfinder is an empty well which forms the centre of the square's underground, multi-storey car park. To make matters even more interesting an enormous, tilted, circular mirror slowly rotates at the bottom of the cylinder, resulting in a constantly shifting and initially confusing spectacle. Here's the mirror in action, from two different viewpoints...

Célestins Parking - Lyon from House42 on Vimeo.

Célestins Parking - Lyon from House42 on Vimeo.

The car park's interior was designed by Wilmotte & Associates, the mirror by Daniel Buren.