Building of the Savings Bank of Bordeaux-Mériadeck, Brutalist historical monument in Mériadeck, Bordeaux, France.
The building of the Caisse d'épargne de Bordeaux à Mériadeck was designed by Edmond Lay and completed in 1977. Its rough pebbled concrete facade combines a rounded left section with a scalloped top rim above a band of dark reflective windows, and stepped horizontal tiers to the right. Metallic letters spell "CAISSE D'EPARGNE" across the lower facade, and a glass curtain wall with a red "Mériadeck" sign adjoins it.
The structure was completed in 1977 and followed the total demolition of the old Mériadeck district in 1971, enabling large-scale urban renewal of the quarter. This period of reconstruction shaped the district for decades and set new standards for Bordeaux during that era.
The building is known locally as the Caisse d'épargne de Bordeaux à Mériadeck, after the savings bank that occupied it until 2017. Its reputation is mixed: Actu Bordeaux placed it in a readers' ranking of the ugliest buildings in the city, while it was listed in April 2014 as a witness to the architecture-sculpture of the second half of the 20th century.
The building stands in the Mériadeck quarter, on a street with parked cars, and is reached on foot from the surrounding pedestrian esplanades. Its concrete curves and the glass wall with the red "Mériadeck" sign are visible from the street. The interior was restructured after 2017 for lofts, shops and a cultural centre around a 300-seat basement amphitheatre, so access depends on those occupants.
The building was first listed as a monument historique in April 2014, under the wording "témoignage de l'architecture-sculpture de la 2e moitié du XXe siècle", then fully classified by decree on 14 January 2022. It had already drawn criticism: Actu Bordeaux placed it in its readers' ranking of the ugliest buildings in the city.
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