Grand gestures, differentiated inner worlds
The long, narrow Seine island of Île Seguin has undergone a dramatic transformation. Formerly home to a large car factory, the place is now all about music. Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has built a music center here, which is intended to attract artists, fine spirits and music lovers to the island. The most striking feature: A flattened, glass sphere that towers over the flat concrete substructure like a billowing sail.
It is this glass sphere that initially puzzles the observer. What might it contain? Its function only becomes clear during a tour of the complex.
At the heart of the project are two large and very different concert halls, the smaller of which occupies the interior of the sphere. It seats 1,150 listeners and is particularly optimized for the performance of classical music. The other hall, the “Grande Seine”, is located opposite in the eastern part of the complex and directly at the main entrance. With a fan-shaped layout and steeply rising stands, it is tailored to pop and rock concerts; it can hold up to 6,000 people and also has a particularly spacious stage.
A house within a house
The main access axis, the “Grande Rue”, leads from the building entrance to the smaller hall in the dome. Approaching the “Auditorium” – as the venue is called – in this way, it becomes clear that this is an independent house within a house.
The introverted hall volume is surrounded by bright walkways and enclosed by a transparent building shell with a hexagonal timber structure. The self-supporting timber construction, a free-form structure on an oval ground plan, is made of glulam elements and was realized using parameterization and CNC production. Its size – 27 meters high, 70 meters in diameter in the longitudinal axis and 45 meters in the transverse axis – is just as remarkable as its construction: the 3,300 individual parts are largely put together like a 3D jigsaw puzzle using overlapping panels to create the overall shape. The hexagonal pattern is created by the double-curved wooden beams that intersect at the intersections.
Floating glass egg versus technoid protective shield
A charming, wide walkway unfolds between the concrete shell of the hall and the wood and glass shell, an extraordinary spatial creation with a sweeping view over the Seine – until the mighty steel structure of the solar sail enters the picture.
The triangular, curved shell segment partially shades the façade, reduces cooling requirements and generates electricity. However, the aesthetic quality of this element with its technoid structural “inner life” was the subject of controversial debate when the Seine Musicale was completed in 2017.
Proof of sustainability
The approach is certainly to be welcomed: the sail is part of the building’s environmental sustainability and energy concept. The client had already specified his desire for a large-scale PV system in the competition. Instead of simply placing it on the roof, Shigeru Ban designed the triangular mobile “sail”, which follows the course of the sun and thus makes power generation more efficient.
At the same time, the shadows that fall on the glass façade and in the walkways around the concert hall change with the course of the day. A multifaceted interplay of light and shadow unfolds here with the reflections in the river and the reflections of the shimmering green mosaic on the hall wall.
All photos: Didier Boy de la Tour.