- Castle of the Dukes of Brittany

In the 15th and 16th centuries, kings and dukes carried their furniture and tapestries with them as they spent short periods in each of their residences.

The fully restored rooms in the ducal residence were bare and devoid of historical décor: the decision was taken to create a contemporary museum, discreet in terms of its impact on the architecture. The design, understated and innovative, displays the Castle and the objects in the collection at their best while integrating the multimedia installations.

The museum design is the work of the architect Jean-Francis Bodin. He was responsible for, among others, the Museum of Modern Art in Paris, the Matisse Museum in Nice and the centre for contemporary arts in Bordeaux... His aim has been to create the impression of a "nomadic" installation, detached from the walls with "mobile and minimalist" fittings.

The richness of the stone and the walls and the number of works to display led him to avoid any design which might be too showy or too attractive and would have added an extra visual layer for the visitor. The colours are subtle, in harmony with the hues in the stone. The only clear colour introduced has been red, outside the exhibition area in the visitor reception.

Jean-Francis Bodin also worked on the Jacobins Tower (espace des Jacobins) which houses the main lift and is a central visitor traffic area with the staircase in the Golden Crown Tower (Tour de la Couronne d'Or). His design proposed leaving this immense space, 26 metres high, entirely open, and reintroducing floors at the historic levels. This exceptional cut-away gives visitors a real sense of the 15th century building.