The Arcachon Aquarium Museum avoids demolition

Arcachon (Gironde). This is the end of a long legal series, while the fate of the Arcachon Aquarium Museum had been pending for almost ten years. On February 12, the Bordeaux Court of Appeal confirmed the illegality of the demolition permit aimed at him. The University of Bordeaux, owner of the site, intended to sell the land where the museum, the aquarium and also the adjoining marine station were located to a developer, the Duval group, who planned to build a luxury hotel there instead. The station with the marine research laboratory would have been relocated to another site in Arcachon while the future of the museum was not specified. Considered the oldest museum-aquarium in the world, inaugurated in 1867, the building is showing the weight of the years. Beyond its dated presentation, it presents significant structural problems, particularly with the framework and certain floors, which led to its closure for safety reasons in 2020. All the marine organisms were then transferred and donated to the La Rochelle Aquarium, while questions remained as to what would happen to its collections, which include models of ancient boats, archaeological objects, shellfish and naturalized species. Concerning the building, the university was, however, categorical: impossible to assume the costs of restoration work.

Damage to the appearance of the neighborhood

In 2018, the prefect of Gironde therefore granted authorization to demolish almost all of the buildings on the site. But in 2023, the Bordeaux administrative court canceled this permit, at the request of a resident who owned a neighboring house. The latter had argued that the demolition would harm the appearance of the district and the aesthetics of the waterfront. The Ministry of Ecological Transition then appealed this first instance decision by going to court, arguing that the final project would integrate certain existing architectural elements, in this case the north facade which would be retained for the lobby of the future hotel. Concluding this legal battle, the court finally confirms “the total cancellation of this permit”, specifying that it is “tainted by an illegality which is not capable of being regularized by an amending permit”. A decision justified by the architecture of the buildings listed in the architectural charter annexed to the local town planning plan of the commune of Arcachon as “remarkable elements of the building”. “ Even though the buildings of the marine station are dilapidated or in an advanced state of deterioration, there are no plans to recreate them identically.tique, contrary to what the architectural charter provides”she adds in her judgment. As such, their demolition was therefore deemed to be contrary to town planning rules regarding the protection and enhancement of built heritage.