Born out of a joint decision between the State and Grenoble in a bid to decentralise, the first National Contemporary Art Foundation opened in 1986 in a huge industrial edifice from 1900, a former boiler manufacturing workshop, restored for the event. The hall's original name has stuck and it is often called the "Magasin". Contemporary art takes pride of place and its 1,600m/5,249ft glass conservatory make it possible to accommodate huge works.