Theater in Lieusaint by Chaix et Morel

In the southeastern suburbs of Paris, the Théâtre-Sénart has been built on a parking lot between gigantic shopping centers. The project for the theater in the ten-thousand-strong district of Lieusaint was led by the Parisian studio headed by architects Philippe Chaix and Jean-Paul Morel. The sculpturally shaped structure with sharply cut features houses the main auditorium for 900 spectators, a small multipurpose space with half the capacity, and a restaurant. At the center of the layout, an outdoor atrium with planted trees opens up. The building, clad in perforated aluminum panels, resembles a reduced mountain range enveloping various halls and internal operations. The facade design comes from Novelis, a company specializing in aluminum work, which prepared eight different patterns of uniform dimensions of 1.5 x 1.5 meters. Daylight penetrates the interiors through small clusters of holes in the aluminum facade, resembling flocks of birds in the sky. In October this year, the theater received a special award, the Trophées Eiffel de l'architecture acier ConstruirAcier, for the most successful steel structures in France.

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