Our Story

The Chemin-Vert foundry was established in 1835 by the Plichon brothers, Jacques François Alexandre and Hilaire Pierre. During the Industrial revolution, the two brothers, who came from a family of ploughmen, became founders in order to meet the needs of the navy and railway companies. The factory employed sixty people and produced castings of all types of parts in cast iron, based on designs and models, up to a weight of 10,000 kg. 

On 21 February 1859, Jacques François Alexandre passed the foundry on to his two sons, Jean and Edouard. They ran the company under the name Plichon Brothers. Edouard Plichon was recognised as a highly skilled technician by his colleagues. He chaired the Chambre Syndicale des Mécaniciens, Chaudronniers et Fondeurs, and was subsequently made Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. Four generations of the Plichon family successively ran the foundry and the business flourished for a hundred years.

The international crisis of 1929 spelled the end of the business, which was already facing stiff competition from welding and forging companies, and the manufacture of the first plastic materials. The company was dissolved in 1935; the site and buildings were sold to the Martin family. Until 2000, the foundry was used by a tool manufacturing company. The large hall serves as an exhibition space.

In 2013, Culturespaces discovers the vacant former foundry and imagines creating a immersive center. Seduced by this project, the Martin family agreed to rent the large hall and its annexes, making it possible to transform the site while preserving its industrial identity.

Following extensive renovation work, particularly on the roof and insulation, the Atelier des Lumières opened to the public on April 13, 2018, with the immersive experience “Klimt: Gold and Colour.”
In its very first year, the venue enjoyed extraordinary success, welcoming over one million visitors who came to discover monumental immersive experiences projected onto the walls of the former industrial hall.