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Quinconces Cultural Complex

Keenly awaited by the town's people, the Quinconces cultural complex, designed by Éric Babin and Jean-François Renaud has occupied an important place in the cultural and social life of Le Mans ever since its opening.

It stands as an interface between the tree-lined Esplanade des Quinconces that is the venue every year for several flagship events and Place des Jacobins. Located below the apse of Saint-Julien Cathedral, it stands across from the law courts that were built in the 1980s and a group of residential buildings with ground-floor businesses and the Palais des Comtes du Maine, now used as the city hall.

In this already rich location of architectural heritage, the new building asserts its modernity without being overly monumental or ostentatious. Incorporated into the geometrics of the city center and the existing dimensions, it presents two spare, well-defined volumes under a single roof which is defined horizontality like a sharp knife.

One enters the theater's foyer directly from the plaza, then climbs a floor to the vast hall that enjoys an exceptional, unhindered view of the Place des Jacobins and the cathedral. The theater itself is covered by a lathing of light-colored wood on the outside and lined on the inside by darker over-lapping wood.

Opposite the municipal theater is a complex housing 11 movie theaters. From afar it looks like an opaque block levitating three meters over the ground. The entrance is on the plaza where there is also an entirely glassed-in café-restaurant.

In many ways the new architectural and urban complex is as intricate in its functions as it is limpid in its expression. It is a precision tool serving an ambitious cultural policy.

Quinconces Cultural Complex

Details

  • Bordeaux, France
  • Babin + Renaud