Roubaix Conservatoire
In the western district of the city of Roubaix, within a heritage protection zone, the rehabilitation and extension of the conservatory is part of the urban renewal movement. Thanks to its proximity to numerous public transport and service roads, the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Départemental promises to have a significant impact on the city and its surrounding areas.
Until now, the public facility was not very visible and its surroundings needed to be improved. In addition to the rehabilitation of the main building and the demolition of some of the courtyard's corridors and volumes, the urban interface had to be reconsidered. In order to establish a desire for openness as a prerequisite for the design, the idea is to create a large "showcase", displaying the vocation of the cultural facility within the city.
Attentive to the quality of the historical and patrimonial setting, the extension adopts as its first landmark the template of the main building. Its silhouette reproduces the geometry of the existing building, which it simplifies by retracing only the main lines. In other words, a built void to create NEW possibilities, freedoms, ways of going through and occupying space to overturn standards and norms.
The scale of the great hall, the highlight of the architectural project, makes the site’s specificity. Its silhouette is visible from afar, both by day or night, as the conservatory functions essentially between 4 and 8 pm. Its generous space offers a great fluidity of stroll, while proposing an original relationship to the old interior facade.
Three volumes, projecting towards the garden, enliven the new façade. Their respective depths outline a new relationship with the close environment, in less frontal relations. Signs of contemporary intervention, the three extrusions enrich the potential of the cultural complex.
Significant program elements are linked to them, which is revealed by a particular emphasis.
