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Cinema ètoile Béthune – Multiplex 9 halls
By : MECOBAT Ingénierie, Innovation Fluides
GRANDS PRIX DU DESIGN – 14e édition
Discipline : Architecture
Categories : Public Building / Cultural Building : Silver Certification
The project of the multiplex Etoile Cinémas is part of the local development policy initiated by the city via the label SmartCity. How and with which architectural devices an architecture may show off the spectator? Inspired by Broadway by light by William Klein (1958), we centered the project on the key concept of a transfiguring performance. A cinema is a complex architecture dedicated to entertainment but also to culture & representation: we wanted our cinema to be a new place of meeting, identifiable in the urban landscape, and infused with a new grandeur to make the cinephile feels like a privileged guest.
Facing the avenue coming from the train station (a strategical place), the building appears as a refined monolith made of steel and light. The concrete structure is adorned with an envelope of perforated sheet metal panels transformed into a starry mantle by a backlighting device. The starry light pattern is obtained through three different perforations randomly distributed on the panels, creating a mesh effect behind which the LEDs light up at varying frequencies. The envelope makes the multiplex a new landmark in the city and transfigures the urban space. This building is also a place where to stay thanks to its theatrical, and opulent architecture, an optimized working environment for visitors, and staff meeting ERP security standards. The hall, the escalators, the wooden staircases with wide passageways, and the mezzanine are places of representation and promenade.
Collaboration
Architect : Olivier Palatre architectes
Engineering : MECOBAT Ingénierie
Engineering : Innovation Fluides
Photographer : Luc Bougly
Other : SLPRO’JECT
Other : BTP Consultants
Other : CIN’ETUDES
Acoustics : Alain LECONTE
Other : DEMATHIEU-BARD
Other : DETAM
Other : DRUET
Other : SET
Other : SITEB
Other : METRANOR
Other : PIM
Other : GUILLON
