Music City - Philharmonic 2

Architect:

Christian de Portzamparc

Acoustic Engineer: Commins BBM, ACV, Xu Acoustique Xu Ya Ying

Electrical Engineer: Grald Karlikof
Promoter:

Ministerio Francs de Cultura y Comunicaciones

Year(s) of design:

1983

Year(s) of construction:
Location:

1984 - 1995

Parc de la Villet, Paris, France

Introduction
The building known as Cit de la Musique (Music City) and renamed in 2015 as the
Philharmonic 2 by the architect Christian de Portzamparc, was opened in 1995. The
inclusion of the Conservatory on the site occupied by the Villette is closely linked to
the project to create a multicultural experimental site in the Music City. Decided by
French President Franois Mitterrand in 1983, the project was commissioned the
architect Christian de Portzamparc, who won the bidding for architecture in 1985
with the goal of creating open, light, designed to facilitate meetings spaces.
Situation
The Music City was built in the Parc de la Villet, urban intervention developed by
architect Bernard Tschumi to revitalize the abandoned lands of the old
slaughterhouse and meat market, at 211 Avenue Jean Jaures, 75019 Paris , France .

Of the 55 hectares occupying 33ha park are green areas. In the remaining area they
have risen diferent "follies" color structures that ofer numerous services and other
avant - garde buildings as the Philharmonie de Paris work Jean Nouvelinaugurated in
2015 or the Music City Christian de Portzamparc.
Concept
The project arose from the desire to combine in one building the Paris Conservatoire
and Museum of Musical Instruments, with its concert halls and rehearsal with all
spaces required for computers for education and dissemination of music, which in
once it was an excellent place for public events. Portzamparc wanted to design a
"dream city", a cozy space to invite the open movement to the Grand Paris and
serve as a meeting place. The result is a design inspired by seashells, with a street
acaracolada organized building spaces. A large network of circulation and spaces
where students can meet freely with its range of vertical and horizontal streets

combine the Conservatory and the Music City, creating a single space at the service
of rhythm and sounds.
Description

Emplazamiento
A Dream City
In front of the Conservatory, the building of the Music City breaks the landscape
with multiple openings that testify to its interior spaces. The architect, in fact,
wanted to explore outside a building, a little labyrinthine, musicians say it takes 15
days to orient themselves within the "city of dreams" that invites movement and
encounters. Thus, the Music City combines several buildings within the same
building and scattered small passages, stairs, quiet corners and other connection
channels in a set of interconnected spaces that allow games of perspective and
light multiply.
The composer and conductor Pierre Boulez emphasized the musical dimension with
these words: ... What I like about the City of Music, is that as we move away,
everything changes. In fact, it is comparable to music ... .
A building to go

The diferent areas that make up the City of Music, concert halls, the Museum and
its amphitheater, library and rehearsal rooms and areas reserved for administration,

extending over a wide area behind a glass shaped shell, rue Musicale, which serves
as the entrance hall, where all roads meet.
In the opinion of Christian de Portzamparc, architecture rhyme with movement: ... I
see (...) architecture as an invitation to life, that is to say, the movement. Not that
architecture moves, or necessarily destabilizing, but the man moves. I do not see it
as a static level, continues as the tracks. Architecture, such as music, perceives
itself in time and according sequences, and pursued the idea that gives rhythm to
the space, the practice of what some call the art of mounting inside the ...
Spaces
The City of Music hosts within diferent areas, including:
West wing
Conservatoire de Paris
The West Wing, completed in 1990, houses the Paris Conservatoire. It can
accommodate 1,200 students on an area of 34,000 sqm. More than 5,000 people
work and teach in this building that seeks to provide a space for everyone, for each
discipline, each "tribe" has its own accommodation, diferent rooms to study, set
around a garden and a small opera house , a living organ and orchestra room
multipurpose. It is a modern city monastery opens and complete the long sweep of
the Jean-Jaures avenue with a large white facade and marked by regular and
transparent forms reflected in a water mirror curve.

Section

Building

Christian de Portzamparc was raised to design a building that would allow the
greatest possible antrada light and turn facilitate meetings between its members.
The building as a whole is divided into four blocks running north to south separated
by corridors of light. The rooms are arranged in acoustically isolated subsets,
connected by places and open, well-lit, with fluid passages. This solution allows
easy movement, while at the same time the specific sound insulation prevents
some overlap.

Program

Cultural and public facilities that hosts the Paris Conservatoire consists of 66
classrooms, three examination rooms and competition, 7 sets orchestra 1 electroacoustic auditorium, 3 amphitheatres (50 seats), 100 rehearsal rooms, 3
auditoriums public (organ, singing, multidisciplinary), Media center, audiovisual
center, 53 student housing units, gym, caf-restaurant, offices, medical center and
parking in an area of 34.000m2.
East wing
Eastern Music City, less tied to their urban environment, wing opens onto the park
as a large triangle. Completed in 1995, it gathers all open to the public, in an area
of 50,000 square meters space. It consists of a series of sections that form a
"neighborhood" with diferent volumes around which the public can walk: concert
halls, a museum of music, a center organologa, amphitheater, the residence of
students, an educational institute, a multimedia library, offices and the
headquarters of the Ensemble Intercontemporain (French Chamber Orchestra),
rehearsal rooms, music stores and Caf de la Musique.
Each space is raised as an "object" with a special shape, like a puzzle assembled
size creates a large triangular block crossed by the magnificent spiral gallery which
extends from the lobby and wraps around the elliptical concert hall.

Concert hall

The flagship room of the City of Music is the concert hall designed by Christian de
Portzamparc so that it can be played in all styles of music. The room is called 2's
Philharmonie Concert Hall, after the opening of the controversial Philharmonie de
Paris of Nouvel .

Pierre Boulez, known conductor and advisor in construction and modular wanted a
rectangular room, Christian Portzamparc wanted elliptically. The Concert Hall of the
Philharmonic 2 is a meeting of two ways. Its rectangular plan is open to many
possible configurations; the seats are retractable and mobile like the escenanio that
allows the installation of several tiers. At the top level, balconies reveal the
ellipsoidal shape of the room. These balconies are a multitude of small boxes,
equipped with a lighting system that allows them to change color, and that also
house small groups of seats. The room is surrounded by a gallery above the
balconies. As Christian de Portzamparc emphasizes: ... The elliptical shape of the
Music City perceptive gives great wealth. Depending on the location, it may seem
small or large, intimate or grand ... . This concert hall has become a benchmark for
its acoustic qualities, exceptionally, relationships forged between the stage and the
audience and crowded public spaces.

Amphitheater

The amphitheater is the perfect space for chamber music concerts. Located
underground has capacity for 250 people. With projection facilities it is suitable for
both films pass to conferences. Its Baroque organ, whose case was designed by
Christian de Portzamprac and performed by Jean-Franois Dupont is regularly used
by students at the Paris Conservatoire and during concerts. It is accessible through
a staircase and an elevator. The room accommodates five people in wheelchairs.
Music Museum of Paris
Conceived by architect Franck Hammoutne, the Museum of Music is a separate
space within the City of Music, an intimate and proper place for dialogue between

musical craftsmanship and musical practice. Its 5 floors are accessible to all
audiences and accessible for people with limited movilidd.

Model

Bookshop

Open to the Parc de la Villette, the library ofers a quiet place for professionals,
amateurs or curious musicians who want to read about music space. Originally
conceived as a small bridge leading to the large auditorium, the library is located in
the beam with red metal frame that crosses the building. Inaugurated in 2005 has
an open and warm space, separated into diferent sections, facing the Parc de la
Villette.

educational spaces

In addition to educational spaces Philharmonic, the City of Music has two other
surfaces that host educational workshops, one specifically dedicated to amplified
music including a mixing studio and a sound booth, and the other dedicated to the
practice of Javanese music.
Philharmonie de Paris
The Philharmonie de Paris is a cultural institution that combines spaces dedicated to
music. It consists of concert halls, exhibition halls, rehearsal rooms, educational
services, restaurants and bars. The main buildings are located in the Parc de la
Villette, on the northeast edge of Paris in the nineteenth district.