jean nouvel: philharmonie de paris under construction

jean nouvel: philharmonie de paris under construction image © nicolas borelall images courtesy of philharmonie de paris /jean nouvel

construction is well underway on the jean nouvel-designed philharmonie de paris, a major new music complex in the cultural parc de la villette. the northeast parisian site is a burgeoning cultural hub with programs underwritten by the french government and city of paris. primarily designed tohouse the orchestre de paris, the center is part of a greater educational and patriotic vision with a program consisting of a 2400 seat auditorium, 6 rehearsal studios, classrooms for workshops as well as an exhibition gallery and cafe. the edifice seeks to become the nexus of the parisian musical landscape and a concert hall worthy of a highly industrialized nation rich with acoustic heritage. the site acts as a bridge between the city center and the suburbs, a notion reflected in the interior, wherein the seating wraps around the stage. the architecture’s scale matches its acoustic might, with a reverberation time between 2 and 2.3 seconds. the building is due for completion in 2014.

the building is slated to be the most expensive concert hall in the world image © nicolas borel 

acoustic considerations required a massively scaled structure image © nicolas borel

image © nicolas borel

scaffolding breaks up the daylight image © nicolas borel

image © nicolas borel

construction interior view image © nicolas borel

image © nicolas borel

exteriors begin to take shape image © nicolas borel 

exterior view image © nicolas borel

image © nicolas borel

earlier view of the in-progress project image © nicolas borel

stormy skies rumble over the building’s bones image © nicolas borel

image © nicolas borel

‘philharmonie de paris’ by jean nouvel, paris, france image © jean nouvel / arte factory 

exterior renderimage © jean nouvel / arte factory

daytime view from a busy street image © jean nouvel / arte factory

ramped entranceway image © jean nouvel / arte factory

image © jean nouvel / arte factory

generously glazed interior view image © didier ghislain 

educational program in a practice room image © didier ghislain

rehearsal hall image © didier ghislain 

main concert venue image © jean nouvel / arte factory

the seating wraps around the stage image © jean nouvel / arte factory

ground plan image © jean nouvel

site plan level 3 image © jean nouvel 

site plan level 0 image © jean nouvel 

floor planimage © jean nouvel

auditorium section image © jean nouvel

zone diagram image © jean nouvel