Courtesy of Clement Blanchet Architecture
Clément Blanchet Architecture has been selected as the winner of an international competition for the design of a new cultural center to be located in the Paris suburb of Gonesse, France, beating out proposals from Bernard Tschumi & Moreau Kusunoki.
Named Circus³, the facility features a unique tensile roof evocative of a circus pavilion, and will house a 1,500 seat theater for a variety of cultural performances and events.
Courtesy of Clement Blanchet Architecture
“This a unique performance venue to EuropaCity and the region, that will be designed specifically to host an internationally branded show, featuring advanced technical features,” explain the architects.
Courtesy of Clement Blanchet Architecture
CIRCUS ³ is focused around three principle design moves:
- Free the ground and let the landscape grow
- Raise an horizontal scenographic and flexible platform framing the main room
- Display the roof as a metaphor of the circus, a place for all activities.
The resulting design produces an urban effect that gestures toward the public plaza and becomes a new piece of “transparent infrastructure” where the public can gather and interact.
Courtesy of Clement Blanchet Architecture
Courtesy of Clement Blanchet Architecture
“The contemporary circus is the demonstration of an historical synthesis and at the same time of a technological engagement,” the architects explain. “The superposition of programs and potentials improves the great entertainment but also maintains a collective memory of the classical typology.”
The central element of the building, the performance space, will use top-of-the-line technology to transform into a variety of configurations capable of housing shows of different types and sizes.
Courtesy of Clement Blanchet Architecture
Courtesy of Clement Blanchet Architecture
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Courtesy of Clement Blanchet Architecture
According to the architects, the show is greater than just what is being formed on stage, but must resonate throughout the entire design.
“The place is the show, is show; make the show, make the place.”
Courtesy of Clement Blanchet Architecture
Courtesy of Clement Blanchet Architecture
Courtesy of Clement Blanchet Architecture
- Architects: Clement Blanchet Architecture
- Location: 95500 Gonesse, France
- Design Team: Clément Blanchet Architecture, Laurent Menabe, Ducks Scéno