Historic Building

The following postcard from 1870 shows us the factory building of the MOSSANT factory. According to our historical research, this factory building should have been established around 1860, and most of it was destroyed by a fire in 1929.

From 1929 to 1933, a new hexagonal building was erected. The building was built by the architect and landscape architect Henri Joulie (1877-1969) of the Drôme region, and is known as “The Castle of MOSSANT”.

This building was built in 1929 by Henri Joulie, landscape architect (1877-1969), a major from Drôme. This important reinforced concrete Art Deco building has two V-shaped wings, the pavilion on the highest angle with canted sides marks the main entrance with a belvedere surmounted by a lantern. This polygonal building is three levels (two square floors), with regular bays (rectangular windows). The facade is punctuated by a series of pillars rising from the bottom separating the bays. The materials used, the treatment of the facades, the zoomorphic semi-flat relief decorations (rabbits and beavers) art deco and above all, the elaborate layout of the interior spaces punctuated by pillars and octagonal capitals testify to a very great architectural richness. and remain an exciting subject of study.

This building is not designed as an industrial production structure (the cap blanks are derived from another factory), the first floor is the workshop for weaving and decoration of hats, and the upper floor is the entire administrative department.

In 1985, the business of the MOSSANT factory was completely closed, and the building was successively used as a hospital, a shopping center…Used until completely idle in 2006. In 2004, the building, which drew on Art Nouveau inspiration while exuding the elegance and attention to detail of 1930s architecture, was designated as a Provincial Industrial Monument.

Since 2007, the facade has been converted into housing and commercial facilities.