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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Grenoble's helical garage is an innovative architectural response to the rise of the automobile in the 1920s. Designed by the Grenobles architects Louis Fumet and Louis Noray, this project aims to overcome the lack of garages in the old buildings of the city. In 1927, they obtained municipal authorization to build a reinforced concrete building on a central plot of the islet Bressieux, masking its helical structure with its eyes. The promoter, Joseph Gallizia, a partial owner of the land and contractor, oversees the works via its company CEPECA (Conduits et Poteaux en Cement Armé), started in 1928.

Inaugurated on 27 July 1932, the garage initially houses 225 vehicles on a spiral ramp of 7 revolutions, serving private boxes around an elliptical central well surmounted by a conical glass roof. Its condominium regime, formalised in 1928, concerns only the inside of the cells, while the common parts (rape, elevator, sanitary) remain collective. The Art Deco facade, designed by architect Georges Serbonnet, quietly integrates into a residential building, completely concealing the interior structure.

In 1952, an authorized elevation added 25 boxes on the terrace, bringing the capacity to 252 seats, while retaining the original glass roof. This garage, still in operation, illustrates the urban adaptation to the massive motorization: between 1920 and 1933, the number of cars in Grenoble rose from 2,845 to 23,069. Its initial operation includes complete services (maintenance, fuel, guarding), reduced today to the sole guarding. Labelled "Heritage of the 20th Century" in 2003 and classified as Historic Monument since July 31, 1989, it embodies a pivotal period in urban and industrial history.

Technically, the structure is based on a reinforced concrete structure with 8 expansion joints, a 7-metre-wide ramp (5% slope) and boxings calculated for 3-ton vehicles. Each level has common facilities (lavabos, WC, telephone), while a central elevator serves pedestrians. The glass window, the inner courtyards illuminating the boxes and the central ventilation well testify to a functional and aesthetic design. The garage was also used as a setting for films such as Cavale (2002) or Far from the Periph (2022).

Its originality lies in its urban discretion: built in the heart of an island, it remains invisible from the street, unlike other French helical garages. This integration, coupled with its Art Deco style and its pioneering co-ownership system, makes it a unique model. The decline of air garages to underground parking in the following decades did not alter its use, maintained thanks to minor adaptations (such as ground parking added in 1952).

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