Snohetta and Casson Mann have won a competition for a cultural centre in southern France which preserves and explains cave paintings which date back to Paleolithic times. Discovered by three young boys in the 1940s, the cave paintings in Lascaux are to be protected in a multimedia visitor centre where visitors can view the exquisite artworks and learn about their history.

The Lascaux IV: International Cave Painting Center competition invited architects to conceptualise designs for this €50m centre. The winning scheme from Snohetta and Casson Mann involves a reception area, public spaces, exhibition areas and an information space. The facades shift from transparent to opaque and are punctured by shafts of daylight which enter through cracks in the roof.