Arriving in Montignac, the hill that shelters the Lascaux cave stands out by its physical but above all historical presence. It bears a cultural heritage unique in the world and an inestimable testimony to the History of humanity.

The Lascaux IV site is located on the border between the Vézère Valley and this hill, at the crossroads of these two landscapes. The first, an agricultural territory over which man has control, the second, is covered with an impenetrable forest, whose tall and dense vegetation plunges its undergrowth into darkness. In the past, man reigned there as master of Parietal Art.

The painting of Lascaux is touching because it connects us to our ancestors. In the same way that homo-sapiens lived in the valley and expressed his art in the heights, the International Center for Parietal Art comes to slip into the border of these two landscapes and transmit knowledge. The homo-sapiens artist reveals the modenature of the walls of the Lascaux cave: his painter's gesture takes advantage of the natural irregularities of the place, uses the roughness of the rock and exploits spatial configuration to represent animal forms.

The project, like the prehistoric artist, takes advantage of the landscape's relief. A slight incision is made at the boundary between the hill and the valley. It is through this simple but powerful gesture that the International Center for Parietal Art of Montignac-Lascaux is born, promising to reveal and share the secrets it hides.

It faces north, towards Montignac, facing the arrival of the visitor to whom it presents its main entrance. Its roof develops a soft line in limestone superimposed on the profiles of the hills of Montignac. Transparent, translucent, opaque at the same time, its facade maintains an inseparable relationship with the exterior, suggesting what is happening inside. At night, it lights up, becoming an << Icon of Lascaux IV » in the service of its cultural influence in the World.

The public, reception and catering spaces extending out into the valley are bathed in omnipresent light. The exhibition spaces are immersed deeper into the hillside and into darkness. Between the two, the orientation zone, a fault of zenithal light, diffuses an almost sacred and spiritual character. The visit takes place in echo of this sublime territory, between ascent and descent, between interior and outside, between earth and sky. For this adventure, visitors are asked to leave their 21st century accessories in the locker rooms and equip themselves with an interactive torch and an explorer's cape. Groups of visitors access the belvedere by climbing at + 10 meters, begin a gently sloping path through the edge of the forest in the scent of box trees to finally arrive in the open air in front of the facsimile and descend as was the case 17,000 years ago. The gaze examines closely then moves into the distance. It is a conditioning of the body between the virtual and the real, between darkness and light, between plant and mineral. Different sound atmospheres accompany the visitor, from the silence of the cave, to the rustling of the wind in the trees, to the cries of distant animals. The confined space of the cave projects us into the sacred immensity of knowledge, time and humanity. DL.

抵達蒙蒂尼亞克（Montignac）時，可以明顯感受到庇護著拉斯科洞窟的山丘地形，但更爲凸顯的是因其歷史縱深所帶來的強烈感受。這裏承載著世上獨一無二的文化遺產，為人類歷史留下了最珍貴的見證。拉斯科四號（Lascaux IV）位於維澤爾河谷與山丘的交界地帶，恰處於兩種地景的交匯處。前者是人力可控的農業地景，後者則遍覆天然密林，高大茂密的植被使林下空隙終年晦暗。回溯過往，人類曾在此展露壁畫藝術的耀眼光輝。

拉斯科的壁畫之所以動人心弦，在於它將我們與祖先緊密連結。一如智人棲居於河谷、並在山高處揮灑藝術才華，國際壁畫藝術中心（International Center for Parietal Art）也巧妙地嵌入這兩種地景的邊界，肩負起傳承知識的使命。智人藝術家在此揭示了拉斯科洞窟牆面的線腳光影：利用場址天然的不規整性，藉由岩石的粗獷肌理並善用空間的構形配置來傳達刻劃種種動物形體。

建案本身亦如史前藝術家般汲取地景的起伏紋理，在山丘與河谷的交界線輕劃下一道切口，蒙蒂尼克-拉斯科國際壁畫藝術中心在簡潔卻有力的建築手法下誕生，為世人揭示與分享當中所隱藏的奧秘。建築面朝北，主入口正對著蒙蒂尼亞克歡迎訪客的到來。柔和的線條從屋頂展開，由石灰岩疊合而成，與蒙蒂尼克山丘輪廓相呼應。立面揉合透明、半透明和不透明的特性，與外部環境維繫著密不可分的關係，同時暗示建築內部的發生。夜間、燈光亮起，建築化身為足以匹配其重要地位的文化圖騰。延伸入河谷的公共區、接待區與餐飲區沐浴在自然光下，展覽空間則更深地潛入山坡、沒入幽暗中。介於兩者之間的引導區導入一道如斷層般的天光，散發近乎神聖的靈性氛圍。

參訪體驗呼應著壯闊的地景，在上行與下潛、內與外、天與地之間開展。踏上探險旅程前，訪客必須先將身上屬於二十一世紀的個人物品留在置物櫃，配備互動式火炬並披上探險家斗篷後，隨團登高十米前往觀賞臺。路線與一萬七千年前雷同：先循緩坡穿過瀰漫著黃楊木香氣的林緣，最終到達露天的空間來到複製壁畫之前，然後再次下行。目光由細察轉向遠眺，這是一種身體狀態的調適，遊走於虛擬與真實、幽暗與光明、植被與礦物之間。歷經多種的聲響氛圍，從洞穴的靜默、林間的風聲颯颯，到遠處動物的低鳴。洞穴的密閉空間將我們投射入知識、時間與人性的神聖廣袤。