Wender·Vista
Villeurbanne
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileFrance
just east of Lyon, across the Cours Émile-Zola

Villeurbanne

— — a working-class skyline ahead of its time.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“East of Lyon, separated only by an avenue and a tram line. Villeurbanne built its own skyline in 1934. The Gratte-Ciel: a city block of art-deco towers rising over a working-class district that wanted a centre of its own. The Théâtre National Populaire still plays here. The cafés below the towers stay open late. from the studio

from the studio
Villeurbanne
— bring it home

Villeurbanne, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Villeurbanne

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Villeurbanne sits immediately east of Lyon in the Rhône department, separated from the city by the Cours Émile-Zola axis. With roughly 153,000 residents recorded at the 2022 census, it is the second-largest commune of the Lyon metropolitan area and the twentieth-largest in France. The Gratte-Ciel district at its centre was built between 1931 and 1934 under mayor Lazare Goujon and the architect Môrice Leroux as a model of social housing and civic ambition. The Théâtre National Populaire, which transferred to Villeurbanne in 1972 under the direction of Roger Planchon, occupies the central square.

— the stone

The Gratte-Ciel ensemble is among the earliest and most ambitious works of European art-deco social housing. Two parallel rows of brick-and-concrete towers rise eleven storeys along the Avenue Henri Barbusse, framing a hôtel de ville with a slim 60-metre clock tower at the end of the axis. The buildings hold roughly 1,500 apartments above ground-floor shops and cafés. The district has been a protected zone of architectural interest since 1991 and remains a working neighbourhood, not a museum.

— the visit

Villeurbanne is reached from Lyon in about fifteen minutes by Métro Line A to the Gratte-Ciel stop, or by tram lines T1 and T4. The Théâtre National Populaire plays a full season from September through June and tickets are released several weeks in advance. The Institut d'Art Contemporain on the Rue du Docteur Dolard rotates exhibitions through the year. The cafés below the towers, around Place Lazare-Goujon and the surrounding side streets, keep the late hours of a French working city.

— where
France · Rhône department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
— elevation
170 m · 558 ft
— position
45.7665° N · 4.8795° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
4 km W
Lyon
city centre
3 km W
Parc de la Tête d'Or
urban park
N
Villeurbanne
Lyon
Parc de la Tête d'Or
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Villeurbanne — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Villeurbanne is a commune of the Rhône department in eastern France, directly adjacent to Lyon and part of the Lyon Metropolis. It held roughly 153,000 residents at the 2022 census.

An art-deco ensemble of eleven-storey brick-and-concrete towers, built 1931 to 1934 under mayor Lazare Goujon and architect Môrice Leroux as a model of municipal social housing. About 1,500 apartments line the central avenue.

France's national decentralised theatre, led for decades by Roger Planchon from its home on Place Lazare-Goujon in Villeurbanne after the title transferred from Paris in 1972. It plays a full season September through June.

Métro Line A reaches the Gratte-Ciel stop in about fifteen minutes from Lyon Bellecour, and tram lines T1 and T4 connect the rest of Villeurbanne to Lyon Part-Dieu station.

No. It is a separate commune that has chosen to remain independent of the city of Lyon, while functioning as part of the wider Lyon Metropolis since 2015.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The Gratte-Ciel skyline is a strong marker of identity for Villeurbannais and for the wider Lyon metro. A Small or Medium with a handwritten studio note travels well as a housewarming or graduation gift.

The brick-warm, geometric palette sits well in art-deco revival, mid-century modern, and Parisian-bohemian rooms. The piece reads strongly against dark green walls, warm woods, and brass.

Yes. The 2025 and 2026 interior direction has pulled hard toward deco geometry, jewel tones, and material weight after years of cool minimalism. The Gratte-Ciel scene anchors a room in that language.

A single Large suits most consoles. A 4-tile Mural fills a standard sofa wall cleanly, and a 9-tile Mural carries a long sectional, dining wall, or stairwell run.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both resist scratching and hold up to humidity, splash, and steam in showers, backsplashes, and powder rooms without losing colour.

Yes. Reid Wender paints every WenderVista piece in-house. There is no licensing and no third-party studio; each tile is one curator's eye on the world's places.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.