Opening Year | 2017 |
Location | Boulogne-Billancourt, France |
Capacity | 1,152 seats |
Architect | Shigeru Ban Architects Europe |
Jean de Gastines Architectes | |
Owner | Conseil Départemental des Hauts-de-Seine |
User | Insula Orchestra |
Construction Cost | EUR 170M |
La Seine Musicale is a large music and performing arts complex located on Ile Seguin island in the city of Boulogne- Billancourt, just West of Paris, France.
The project was initiated in 2011 by the Conseil Départemental des Hauts-de-Seine, the local administrative division, and developed through a Private Financing Initiative (PFI). Design was led by Shigeru Ban Architects Europe and Jean de Gastines Architects. Inaugurated in April 2017, the facility comprises two large performance spaces, practice and teaching rooms for Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine, rehearsal rooms and offices for the resident ensemble Insula Orchestra and a collection of music rooms of various sizes available for rental.
The Auditorium, with a capacity of 1,150 people, is designed primarily for performances in natural acoustics. It features a large stage suitable for full-size orchestra, as well as an orchestra pit. Audience is laid out all around the platform on terraced seating and a single balcony, balancing a mainly frontal arrangement with great physical proximity. Design was developed with the help of computer simulations and a 1:20 scale physical model. A spectacular structure comprising thousands of paper tube sections is suspended from the main ceiling and provides sound diffusion while maintaining acoustical transparency.