Familiar to the people of Lille, the Palais Rameau was conceived from its creation as a building open to all, dedicated to research and innovation accessible to all, in connection with horticulture. Fourteen decades later and with the collaboration of the City of Lille, which is handing over this emblematic site to our association by means of a 25-year emphyteutic lease, JUNIA wants to bring it new souffle while respecting the soul of the place. Construction began in October 2021, with an opening planned for spring 2024.
Lille Campus
The Palais Rameau's new life
The Palais Rameau represents...
3620 m², including the basement. The surrounding garden occupies 5,465 m², not to mention the 200 m² janitor’s house in the northwest corner of the park.
Classified as a historic monument since 2002, this status is accompanied by the principle of reversibility of the interior fittings and by the obligation to preserve its historic appearance.
The entire interior layout will be modular and responsible: with the installation of a technical floor and the creation of spaces by a set of modular wooden partitions made in the region with local poplar.
What will happen inside?
In this location, a demonstrator of tomorrow’s agriculture and food will be developed. In a context of changing consumer practices towards sustainability, the objective will be to offer students, but also teacher-researchers and partner companies, a research and development ecosystem conducive to discovering, reinventing and transforming the challenges of agriculture and food.
The ambition is therefore to create a breeding ground for an ecosystem ranging from agricultural production to consumption, including food processing. A system from farm to fork embodied in spaces of research and education: spaces of agricultural production with more or less controlled environments, laboratories of formulation, transformation and associated analysis, and finally a sensory space of tasting of products…
The general public will also be able to take part and become aware thanks to a “third place” space, in charge of the animation and the programming of the place.