BDES1020 <Kingsley, May>

Abstract

A plaza sits near the centre of Paris, perfect in its symmetry, defined by its history, shaped by tradition and sustained by its cultural foundations. Yet in its perfect elegance the need for an artistic stage and screen arose which was to be fulfilled through architectural expansion. The desire for subtlety evoked a requirement for boldness as the original subterranean proposal gave way to the upward expansion of program. Though the original aspiration was still to be met as one attempted to make a building visible but not seen. The fragmentation of movement created by the most simplistic of architectural forms saw the means which gave life to a tangible space, one that would float in a symmetrical, traditional, historical sphere. Le Cinema Flottant, the floating cinema. It is an organic tumbling construction that evolved from the attempt to create a building that is invisible yet is still successfully apparent. Shaped by the desire to blend a solid mass into the atmosphere of the almost perfectly symmetrical Place Vendome. The building itself can be interpreted in 3 separate entities that merge to create one experience; the canopy, the theatre, and the Entrance gallery. Entering the building via a stair case one is lead into the sub terrain space that sits bellow the tiled surface of the plaza, then guided through a Romanesque forest of columns you are then trusted into an anti-gravity like space of the theatre/cinema, the primary program of Le Cinema Flottant. Here one sits in an intimate yet ultimately open space where the viewing experience is not restricted to the private users but is extended to the public in the plaza, who can observe the mechanics of the show as actors escalate the exterior/interior staircase. Concurrently Le Cinema Flottant stands as an icon which involves the public with the plaza, portraying a new and exciting side whilst respecting and framing the historical significance of its surroundings. The structure of the glass cube which surrounds the theatre will rely on a glass fin system, modelled off the Apple Store in Manhattan. This involves a series of glass fins which are attached via two arm fin spider joints to 3000x2000mm glass panelling. These glass fins are then reinforced by steel support beams. This is system is particularly effective as it did not detract from the overall visual impact of the glass cube, whilst allowing sufficient structural support thus making the form conceivable.