French studio PPA Architectures has designed a dedicated music and dance facility with a pleated white metal façade on the outskirts of Toulouse, France.
Dubbed the Conservatoire of Music and Dance, this 3,400-square-meter facility is dedicated to providing students with a diverse arts education in the fields of music and dance from the age of four.
The “simple and austere” building unites a music and dance program with a double-height performance space at its heart. Specialized education spaces are organized around this central auditorium.
This conservative building was built on the southern edge of a large well-kept park facing the high school in the Andromede district of Toulouse, on the outskirts of Blagnac.
PPA Architectures designed the building around the neighborhood’s public spaces. The two-story lot is set back from the main road and the one-story lot adjoins the main lot on the north side, forming an enclosed public garden.
“The inverted ‘L’ formed by the two buildings encloses a large, easily accessible garden bordered to the north by a walkway across the courtyard, denoting a second entrance to the building and locating facilities at a nearby intersection. I do,” the studio said. Dezane.
The composition of the building is oriented inwards due to its function as an educational facility, and oriented outwards as it is a major municipal facility nearby.
A spacious paved forecourt opening from a large covered basement serves as the main entrance to the building. A public route through his ground floor of the building leads to the garden on the north side.
The layout of the conservatory is devoted to dance on the ground floor and music on the second floor. A double-height volume in the center of the building forms an auditorium, serving as the ‘interface’ for music and dance.
“This space is the ‘changing’ heart of the building,” explained PPA Architecture. “[You can] Imagine all kinds of stage sets that reflect the evolution of education and practice in music and dance. “
The auditorium stage features a retractable wall that divides the space into two separate performance areas. The walls and ceiling of the space are lined with pleats of wooden sound-absorbing panels.
A stepped staircase forms seating in the lower hall and connects the two levels of the conservatory. They tower above the reception desk and main entrance and connect to a series of music instruction rooms located along the edge of the building.
The reinforced concrete structure of the outer building is covered with a perforated white metal mesh. The vertical ‘gills’ of the façade open outwards to form a sunscreen and serve as a counterpoint to the overall horizontality of the building.
“The use of wood in the central area and its pleated sides accommodate acoustic treatment options,” explained the studio. “I used the same pleated side on the outside to create a metallic ‘membrane’ sunscreen in front of the project’s bay window. “
PPA Architectures is a Toulouse office founded in 2011. The Conservatory of Music and Dance is the latest in a series of municipal projects that have contributed to Toulouse’s innovation district.
The studio previously designed student housing projects with metal shutters and a huge exhibition center with perforated green façades designed in collaboration with the Dutch firm OMA.
Photographed by Sylvain Mill.
