L'Atelier Architects & Engineers

La Cité Des Arts

La Cité Des Arts
© Hervé Douris

LA CITÉ DES ARTS

L’Atelier Architectes

PHOTOGRAPHS
Hervé Douris

MANUFACTURERS
Danpal, Everlite, Jezet Seating, Reckli Reckli, Kalzip, Ressorts Gerb

CLIENT
Cinor

GROUP L’ATELIER ARCHITECTES
Sylvain Guy, Guillaume Hazet associates – Elisabeth Pacot : architect project manager, Nicolas Ducroux: architect - Frédéric Griffe: Construction manager

SCENOGRAPHER
Changement à vue

BUIDING ENGINEERING DESIGN
Socetem - Tce

ACOUSTIC
Acoustique Vivié & Associés

LIGHTING DESIGNER
8’18 ‘’

QUANTITY SERVEYOR
CIEA

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF CONSTRUCTION
Imageen

LANDSCAPE DESIGN
Folléa-Gautier

CO-FINANCING
Cinor / Ville De St-denis / Etat / Region

TRAFFIC ENGINEERING
Artelia-Coteba

ESTIMATED COST OF THE OPERATION
EUR 23 million [all taxes included]

CONSTRUCTION COSTS
EUR 18 million [all taxes included]

CLIENT ASSISTANT
ICADE and SODIAC (delegated project managers)

YEAR
2016

AREA
15000 m²

CATEGORY
Theaters & Performance

LOCATION
Sainte-Clotilde, Réunion

La Cité des arts is an artistic island located in the heart of an evolving area, to the East of the town of Saint-Denis, in Reunion Island. New lighthouse in town, it has been designed as a multidisciplinary village, with a concert hall of 350 seats (expandable to 600 via retractable seats), workshops for artists, studios for dance and theatre, studios for resident artists, an administration building, a bar, a restaurant and a cultural shop.

La Cité Des Arts
© Hervé Douris
La Cité Des Arts
© Hervé Douris

Under this monolith carved by the winds, small streets and courtyards punctuate the City, where the implementation of confined strips creates shady alleyways and private patios, which are refreshed by plantations, thus offering to the general public, as well as artists, places of relaxation, artistic encounters and workshops.

A LANDMARK AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE TOWN

La cite des arts has a strong challenge; that of being a landmark at the entrance of the town, in a large ensemble dedicated to culture, recreation and sports in Saint-Denis on Reunion Island.

La Cité Des Arts
© Hervé Douris
La Cité Des Arts
© Hervé Douris

A CITY THE RECONNECTED THE TOWN TO THE COAST

Restrained by a major road, which separated it from the town and from the ocean, the site has been subjected to an architectural work of urban reconnection. The project of La cite des arts, with its new links with the coastal path and surrounding neighborhoods, reconnects the town to the ocean, by creating a meeting point, an artistic confluence.

FOOTSTEPS OF HISTORY

Although the program entailed some novelty, there was no point in erasing the history of this emblematic place, a former industrial site converted into a cultural and artistic place, and which recently hosted workshops for artists and a theater, the Palaxa. This one is preserved and renovated, like former industrial walls that make the link with the past, symbolizing the freedom of creation.

La Cité Des Arts
© Hervé Douris
La Cité Des Arts
© Hervé Douris

A MINERAL STRUCTURE

The project presents itself as a mineral project, as a monolith carved by the wind, the rain and the sun, like the ravines of Reunion Island. Its raw lines and angular concrete works interchange with the smooth and rough materials similar to rock strata found on the cliffs of the island.

A SIGNAL ARCHITECTURE

From this monolith emerges the volume of the auditorium (the Fanal), dressed in a double polycarbonate skin, illuminated at night. This volume is a real lighthouse, which has become an urban signal and the symbol of the city’s radiancy.

A SET OF DOUBLE SKIN

The North and South facades form an envelope which protects the heart of the island: one in concrete, the other one made of glass. They allow interior facades to open up outdoor areas, offering all possibilities for contribution natural light and cross ventilation.

La Cité Des Arts
© Hervé Douris
La Cité Des Arts
© Hervé Douris

These monolithic façades consist of a double skin that plays with bare interior façade either move away and create patios bringing freshness and green places, either to arrange for real visual openings to the coast or the city.


La Cité Des Arts
Plan
La Cité Des Arts
Plan
La Cité Des Arts
Plan


La Cité Des Arts
Elevation
La Cité Des Arts
Elevation


La Cité Des Arts
Section

L'Atelier Architects & Engineers
T +262 2 62237001
L'Atelier Architects & Engineers
24, Rue de la Petite-Île, 97400 Saint-Denis, Réunion