Photo credits: Nicholas Waltefaugle.
The city of
Besaçon has a long history, argued over between the French, Spanish and Germans for hundreds of years. So it is with this in mind that
Kengo Kuma & Associates strove to create an architecture that could be at one with the river and mountains, the ancient Citadelle and the cultures of modernity.
The practice created a strikingly modern cultural centre that at once has become an architectural focus for the city as well as the centre of dance music and performance.
The architects consider the roof, visible from the Citadelle, to be something like an extension of the river and mountains. It has transparent glass, sedum and PV panels creating a “façade” that is symbolic of the meeting of nature, building and culture in the public realm.
At the heart of the building is an old wood storage warehouse that acts as a link with the past. It imparts a discipline for the site in terms of layout and scale.
The façades of the new building are composed of wood and steel panels, and are subtlety modulated to articulate the two main schools that occur inside. Fundamentally, the building is composed of music and dance practice rooms, with an auditorium and gallery that also act as exhibition spaces for the institute. The centre can also accommodate visiting cultural events for the city.
Project credits:
Architects : Paris and Toyko
Kengo Kuma
Sarah Markert: Project manager
Elise Fauquembergue: Assistant
Jun Shibata: facade and roof study
Yuki Ikeguchi: Project director
Architect associate: Archidev, Cachan, France
Structure and MEP engineer: Egis, Strasbourg, France
Landscaper: L’Anton, Arcueil, France
Acoustic engineer: Lamoureux, Paris, France
Scenographer : Changement à Vu, Paris, France
Quantity surveyor: Cabinet Cholley, Besançon, France
Sustainable engineer: Alto, Lyon, France
Site Area: 20 603 m²
Built area: 11 389 m²
Client: Communauté d’agglomération, Franche-Comté, Ville de Besançon,
Budget: 26,900,000 Euros
Gratitude to
Arch Daily.
