Architecture studio Manuelle Gautrand led a project that lasted 15 years, managing in an ambitious venture: adding functionality and a new aesthetic to a building with a unique story.
Le Palace, built for the first time in the 30s, was a movie theatre. The only element that survives from the original structure is the facade supported by girders, still perfectly visible and integrated into the new red facade from the reconstruction in the 90s, alongside the latest extension covered in weaving, rhombus-shaped, metal panels.
The extension adds three new levels for rehearsal rooms and offices, and the existing structure was also completely renovated in a contemporary style.
Description of the project by Manuelle Gautrand Architecture
The building contributes strongly to the attractiveness of the area and represents the most emblematic cultural equipment of the city.
First Renovation.- The architectural concept has been to create a very compact project with spaces close to each other. The program was divided into two parts sharply juxtaposed: one intended for the artists, and the other one opened to the public. Inside the section intended for the artists, the functions are linked and follow each other with rigor: on one side the back-stage, then the scene, the proscenium, and finally the room on which comes to settle in height the state control, above the back seats.
The facade, that presents a monumental aspect, shows the internal division of the building: the part that wraps the artists' space distinguishes itself by its purple satin color. The surface of the varnish is covered with a frieze of black glazed bricks. This stylized frieze has allowed giving a certain scale to the facades of this part of the project. The facade of the public space, that takes up the area where the former movie theater used to be, is identically reproduced since it’s a part of the historical heritage of the residents of Bethune.
Extension of the Project.- The extension is located on the corner of the plot, on three levels: a volume of high-rise located on the same level as the natural ground, and dedicated to the rehearsal room; then a level of offices, which links with the existing office floor to the second floor of the building. The construction of the corner hall connects directly to the cafeteria, bringing a natural lighting and making it an animated and welcoming passageway.
The studio didn’t want to extend the existing architecture with the exact same style, but preferred to exploit two different periods. The architectural concept of the extension consists on a simple volume, almost rectangular, coated in black: a deep and powerful color. To create a soft link with the initial volume, this black is implemented in the form of a kind of weaving metal panels, which are drawing large rhombuses, to remind the ones of the purple rounded shape.
CREDITS. DATA SHEET.-
Architect.- Manuelle Gautrand Architecture.
Collaborators.- Bati-Scene (Stage design), Khephren (Structural engineering), Jean-Paul Lamoureux (Acoustics), Hexa Ingenierie (Fluids engineering & economy), HD Project (Scheduling and coordination).
Client.- Communaute d'Agglomeration de Bethune (Artois Communaute).
Area.- Gross floor area.- 20820 sqm; Extension.- 720 sqm.
Cost.- 3,6 million €
Dates.- Initial building.- 1994-1999; Extension-restructuring.- competition 2009, construction 2013-2014, opening.- september 2014.
Location.- Boulevard Victor Hugo, Corner rue du 11 Novembre –Béthune (Nord-Picardie), France.
