Cultural & religious, Teaching & research, Theatres & concert halls & auditoriumsSecondary & Higher Education
Music Conservatory
Montpellier, France
Conceived as a musical village where people can dance and sing on the rooftops, the Music Conservatory of Montpellier opens up to the city as a new cultural center rooted in a haven of greenery.
The Music Conservatory of Montpellier is located in the heart of the city, in the Boutonnet district. The building complex seeks to define an urban composition design that integrates generously- dimensioned public spaces and two complementing housing projects. It is located on the former site of the Grasset Maternity Hospital, whose only entrance hall has been preserved within compliance with its architectural style.
Blending into the abundant existing vegetation, the Conservatory is conceived as a musical village featuring built volumes interspersed with patios, terraces and suspended gardens, interconnected by corridors widely open to the street. The project seeks to renew the architectural relationship to educational institutions by proposing a new lifestyle. It also addresses the relationship of the music conservatory to the city in terms of urban planning values by connecting these two environments through fragmented volumes set in the middle of a green landscape.
The building stands in the recess of a vast square accommodating the main passageways and a 400-seat auditorium, offering a progressive entrance sequence into the spacious and airy classrooms. The building blends harmoniously with the surrounding built masses, by means of cascading volumes that closely match the contours of the former nursery and the square. The hanging gardens reach out towards the tree canopies, overhung by a skyline marked by the “fish-scale” patterns of the photovoltaic panels. The subtle interweaving of the different spaces highlighted by the filtered effects of the coloured sunshades on the façades, creates a poetic and nurturing environment, fitting for a cultural institution for the study and practice of music, dance and drama, and creates a pleasant living and working environment for all. Revitalising the heart of the Boutonnet district, this contextual, innovative and contemporary architectural creation will undoubtedly enhance the anticipated future outreach of the Conservatory.
- Customer:Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, SA3M
- Team:Architecturestudio (lead consultant), MDR Architectes, Base, Sud Infra Environnement , Andre Verdier, Ingénierie Louis Choulet, Franck Boutté Consultants, AVA, Batiscene, Ateliers Peytavin, Eco-Cités, TKDES, CEC, CL Design, ACKA, LMI, 8’18’’, Vulcaneo, ACTH
- Program:Music conservatory
- Year:2021
- Surface:10 000 m²
- Status:Delivered
- Label:Bâtiment Durable Occitanie (BDO) / Bâtiment Durable Méditerranée niveau Argent (BDM) / Bâtiment Basse Consommation (BBC) niveau confort pour l'existant / Bâtiment à Énergie Positive (BEPOS)
project news
22/04/2022 [Projects] The Cité des Arts obtains the BDO label – Silver standard
After receiveng the BDO (Bâtiment Durable Occitanie) label - Silver standard - during the "project" phase, Montpellier brand new music conservatory is rewarded for its high environmental approach in the "completion" phase.
Congratulations to the whole team !
07/04/2022 [Press] Visit of the New Music Conservatory in Montpellier by Chroniques d’Architecture
Real reactivator of the Boutonnet neighborhood this public facility, dedicated to teaching and artistic practices, brings a new dynamism to the public area. Its entrance pavilion, former Grasset Maternity Hospital, has been preserved with its original architectural style and retake its proper place on Avenue Grasset.
16/12/2021 [Press] Balade archi à Montpellier
Le media IDEAT Magazine met ici à l’honneur les réalisations architecturales de la métropole d’Occitanie, dont la Cité des Arts, récemment inaugurée en octobre dernier.
27/04/2021 [Press] Le nouveau Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Montpellier à l’honneur dans Midi Libre
Après 3 ans de chantier, le Conservatoire proposera notamment un grand auditorium de 400 places, près de 90 salles d’enseignement et un studio de théâtre.