Circus Arts Conservatory

Circus Arts Conservatory
© Hervé Abbadie

CIRCUS ARTS CONSERVATORY

Adh

ARCHITECTS
Adh

AREA
4100 m²

YEAR
2012

ECONOMIST
Atce

TEXTILE CASING
Abaca

PHOTOGRAPHS
Hervé Abbadie

WOOD CONSTRUCTION
Pyrénées Charpentes

ACOUSTICS EXPERT
Altia

ARCHITECT IN CHARGE
Benoîte Doazan, Nicolas Novello, Stéphane Hirschberger

SCENOGRAPHER
Changement A Vue

LOCATION
Auch, France

CARPENTRY WOOD AND METAL & WOOD BUILDING
Anglade

CATEGORY
Research Center, Adaptive Reuse, Cultural Center

Text description provided by architect.

Located on the site of the disaffected Espagne barrack, the CCIR (Circus Center for Innovation and Research) is the first step in Auch’s urban replanning.

Circus Arts Conservatory
© Hervé Abbadie
Circus Arts Conservatory
© Hervé Abbadie

This program includes housing for embers of resident troupes, studios, a large rehearsal room, and a permanent circus tent, able to seat 700 people.

This project introduces three different worlds, which, when put together, form a cohesive and readable space.

First, the Patio, around which the different CCIR living spaces are organized. It is a half-courtyard, a space at the heart of the residents’s life, in which they will be free to work, talk and dream.

Circus Arts Conservatory
© Hervé Abbadie
Circus Arts Conservatory
© Hervé Abbadie

The Atelier is then set all around the rehearsal room, and is the central workspace for circus artists: taking into account the high levels of intensity and concentration, this scenographic tower where performance occur is conceived as convenient tool, the most effective possible. Its facades will be covered in larch, from which will appear converted stables.

Circus Arts Conservatory
© Hervé Abbadie
Circus Arts Conservatory
© Hervé Abbadie

Stationary, the circus tent, becomes a strong and recognizable urban beacon: opaque, and with a singular volume, it installs its enigmatic form in the city skyline.

This project will not break away from the cultural and collective image of the circus, but rather innovating on certain technical and architectural aspects:

Circus Arts Conservatory
© Hervé Abbadie
Circus Arts Conservatory
© Hervé Abbadie

a canvas shell, folds, colors that change according to the show, a circular gallery that even distributes entrances and exits. The magic of the circus tent is in its mystery, in how its work element easily transitions into the spectacular.

Public access to the equipment is organized on show days, to form a sort of «circus street»: a joyful and covered strada, where crowds and performers will be able to mingle in a festival spirit.

Circus Arts Conservatory
© Hervé Abbadie
Circus Arts Conservatory
© Hervé Abbadie
Circus Arts Conservatory
© Hervé Abbadie


Circus Arts Conservatory
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Circus Arts Conservatory
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Circus Arts Conservatory
Floor Plan
Circus Arts Conservatory
Floor Plan
Circus Arts Conservatory
Floor Plan

Circus Arts Conservatory
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Circus Arts Conservatory
Site Plan
Circus Arts Conservatory
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Circus Arts Conservatory
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Circus Arts Conservatory
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