This cultural project with a nation wide ambition also proves to be an urban project of major interest. More than just a simple diffusion, the building will provide an opportunity for a " civic life " to settle and inhabit the site. A place to be experienced permanently so that this equipment is not perceived as an end but as a reception and meeting area. The Ethnographic Museum is conceived as a social museum by being a reflection of the research, the display of the culture of past and present objects. We therefore propose to extend the public space by creating a generous space under the building. Sheltered in such a way, the vast forecourt presents the qualities of an open hall. This symbolism is reinforced by the posts which are marking the space in the most light way, almost fragile. The building is no longer limited to the perimeter of its faces. It incorporates its environment in a global entity made of solids and voids which merge with one another. A center of gravity is created in the middle of the plot, enabling a real sheltered public square. The architecture merges with the city.