Theatre l'Eclat
Pont-Audemer, France
Jakob+MacFarlane

A1960s brutalist box with a vibrant curtain wall reinvigorates a community theater in Normandy y

© Archipress

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

By Claire Downey

For the Théâtre L’Eclat, the architects carried out a radical intervention, removing all but the rough concrete bones of the 1960s structure and replacing its vital organs from the inside out. The main objectives of the recent renovation were to improve acoustics, add programming flexibility, and downsize the auditorium. Jakob + MacFarlane chose to retain the corner stage but double its depth by adding a 24-foot extension that projects into the room. A new proscenium is composed of collapsible, rectangular segments that can be removed and stored beneath the stage.

One dramatic change was the creation of an 181/2-inch-thick acoustical wall to enclose 360 seats arranged concentrically in the redesigned auditorium. This new interior shell gives the room intimacy. It also creates a separation between the auditorium and the second-floor lobby, while supporting heating and air-conditioning units.

The entire auditorium—from floor to ceiling, walls to seating—is enveloped in shades of slate gray. The dark floors are painted, waxed oak. Chairs feature wooden armrests to aid sound absorption. On the ceiling, acoustic panels are set between exposed structural elements.

Welcoming a broader audience also meant bringing the building facade down to meet the plaza. Even the corner entrance, with its supermarket-inspired lettering, points toward the town center. The full-height skin of transparent and opaque glass employs a German glazing system in which vertical structural mullions allow a minimum of horizontal breaks. With only silicone joints separating the glass panels, which alternate from 39 to 47 feet high, the facade appears detached from the building behind it, like a curtain stretched across a stage. With the ground floor now completely enclosed, the city also has a new space that can be rented for exhibitions or events.

Inside, the facade’s frosted glass panels are positioned across from auditorium exits so that, post performance, patrons’ eyes do not immediately confront the outside world. The only subtle shock comes from orange metal siding used to clad the ticket desk and lobby walls. The siding is the same type that wraps local farm buildings, albeit in a brighter shade here.

See the July 2001 issue of Architectural Record for full coverage of this project.

Formal name of building:
Theatre L'Eclat

Location:
Pont-Audemer, France

Gross square footage:
17,120 sq ft

Total construction cost:
$1.9 million

Owner:
City of Pont-Audemer

Architect's firm:
Jakob+MacFarlane
13 rue des petites écuries
75010 Paris
tel :00 33 1 44 79 05 72
fax: 00 33 1 48 00 97 93
e-mail: jakmak@club-internet.fr