Maison de la Culture, Grenoble

The Maison de la Culture was designed by André Wogenscky and was opened by André Malraux to mark the 1968 Winter Olympics. It has long been a symbol, a somewhat isolated object resembling the prow of a ship beached, as it were, in the town. Prematurely weatherworn, Le Cargo – the first arts centre of its kind – closed its doors in 1998. In September 2004, reborn as MC2, it began its new life as a cultural multiplex after six years of reconstruction that were not without their problems, what with the discovery of asbestos and new specifications for earthquake resistance. Armed with €42.4 million, architect Antoine Stinco completely revamped stage amenities and routing in the existing 14,600 m² while discreetly adding a new 5600 m² wing connected to the old part by two glass footbridges. And accordingly, dancers, musicians and actors from the Centre Choréographique national, the Centre dramatique national des Alpes and the Musiciens du Louvre, all rub shoulders there.

For Stinco it was a matter of 'unlocking a building suspended above a green space, without resisting its architecture. I did not want to arrive at a vocabulary that opposed this building, which symbolizes Grenoble's "heroic period"… The main challenge of this remodelling was to establish a completely new link with the city itself, to create an interaction between the building's various functions and to open up this facility to the city without turning it into something opulent.'

There is a complete absence of lavishness. Luxury here is restricted to craftsmanship and the simplicity of the materials, such as concrete, wood and glass. The architect has done away with the side access and has anchored the monolith in the ground, with steps leading from the street to the entrance hall. He has restored to that space all its monumentality, opening it up and thus underlining the star-shaped design of its concrete ceiling. With an identical ambience to that of the original project with its Carrara marble floor, this main hallway leads to the various auditoriums. The new wing contains rooms for the performers themselves, including a new 700 m² hall for creative pursuits, two dance studios, a theatre rehearsal room and a recording studio.

While retaining its white metal shell, black steel-plate 'funnels' and undressed concrete pillars, the original building now houses three theatres. The old Grand Théâtre, the large hall dedicated to ballet and theatre, has acquired a balcony, but it is now a few metres shorter. In its wood and dark grey concrete 'funnel', the 1050 seats are still arranged on a slope, with an orchestra pit that can be moved under the front rows of seats. The close relation with the stage eliminates any feeling of vast size.

The oval 'funnel', which used to house the experimental theatre (whose revolving equipment was little used) has been replaced by a 1000-seat auditorium in concrete and okoumé veneer, which enhances the acoustics for musical performances. In the basement, the Petit Théâtre has been refurbished as a hall with 250 seats. It now has air-conditioning, in keeping with the entire building.

The centre has been further enhanced with 65 dressing rooms, numerous internal passages, which had been lacking, and a patio with a bar and a restaurant for 250 guests. This is a new complex for a city that has always demonstrated a large appetite for culture – put to the test here with a sober, almost too sober, setting – which, according to the architect, seeks to be 'neither very rich, nor ostentatiously poor'.