Poitiers.
Building a theatre and an auditorium.
Deciding
what is essential in a given programme for a given place, should be the primary
objective of every single architecture project – and nothing else. This becomes
even more valid when a public building is concerned, as it involves a strong
and vibrant interaction with the city as “work in progress”.
The
building should be as simple as possible, playing a distinctive role as
catalyser and support for artistic activities and events, and enhancing social
interaction. It should have a clear, strong but discreet presence and image in
the city, conveying information about its own content that can be read at
different levels.
as
simple as possible
The
limestone platform open to the public ensures a spatial continuity with the
city of Poitiers and a material homogeneity with its surroundings. Slightly
suspended above it, lie the parallelepiped volumes of the building, covered
with white matt glass. This double skin – concrete/glass – was the only
“luxury” we indulged in, for it works as a medium and allows mutations in the
building exterior – of image, light, color…
on
the inside, the possibility of communication
the
auditorium
Designing
a hall exclusively dedicated to music allowed the development of an optimal
acoustic and architectural result.
The
typological shape of the hall is that of a ‘shoebox’, a large parallelepiped
space with a flat seating area. This typology inherited from 19th
century theatres — that is an almost forgotten option nowadays, with the
growing popularity of multipurpose halls — guarantees the quality and
homogeneity of musical performance, as its shape suppresses primary and
fragmentedsound absorption, usually caused by
sloping seating areas.
On
the interior, slightly leaning walls made of wood are detached from the
container’s surface, producing a unitary space that incorporates both stage and
audience. The slightly round shape of the hall, dictated by acoustics, and the
bright texture of the wooden walls create a structure that contrasts with the
container’s darker and more rigid forms.
As
a result, the delicate textured surfaces that diffuse the sound provide
simultaneously acoustic perfection and a feeling of sensory well-being for
performers and audience alike.
Hall
and foyer communicate through pivoting doors disguised in the sidewalls. Once
closed, the continuity of the wood texture guarantees a homogeneous reading of
the spatial container.
the
theatre
The
theatre hall is meant to be extremely versatile and “performant”, in order to
allow different kinds of productions and events to take place.
We
have tried to meet, in a balanced and flexible way, both the technical demands
of the “theatre machine” and the requirements of intimacy, well-being, visual
and acoustic optimization of the audience space.
The
audience space is totally configured by gypsum fibre platesthat produce an unitary shape, a dark, neutral,
monochromatic “cocoon” with no edges, only punctuated by the doors, control
room and VIP galleries. Its homogeneous shape and materials ensures acoustic
effectiveness; its simplicity emphasises the stage performance.
João
Luís Carrilho da Graça
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