ZENITH, STRASBOURG (FRANCE)
NAME Zenith Music Hall
SNC ZENITH DE STRASBOURG
1 allée du Zénith – BP 84097 ECKBOLSHEIM
67034 STRASBOURG cedex 2
ARCHITECTS Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas
PROGRAMME Music Hall ( 10.000 seats)
SITE Eckbolsheim, Strasbourg (France)
SURFACE 14.000 mq
COST 48.000.000 euro
CLIENT Communautè urbaine de Strasbourg
responsable Société d’Aménagement et d’Equipement de la Région de Strasbourg (S.E.R.S.)
CONSULTANT ENTREPRISE GENERALE : Pertuy construction
INGENIERIE : BUREAU D'ÉTUDES SIMON & CHRISTIANSEN ( structures), form TL
( toile) Veritas ( controle)
FACONNAGE ET POSE DE LA TOILE : Canobbio
DATE Competition : October 2003
Start date : March 2005
Opening : 3rd- 5 th january 2008
By its playful form and character, the Zenith music hall contributes to the great Varietee Theaters which were built
since the Zenith building in Paris was erected in 1984. The new Zenith building is an important project for the
exhibition area in Strasbourg. It will be the new attraction which will give new impulse to the future development of
the city’s infrastructure.
The concept of the design is based on a modular and a well balanced organization of the different elements: good
views for all spectators, best acoustics and an optimized cost management already addressed during the concept
phase of the design. The Zenith music hall provides ideal facilities for the guests and the artist performing.
The building is to be understood as a single, unifying and autonomous sculpture. By layering and rotating the
ellipsoid metal façade structure, the design receives a very dynamic character. This is underlined with the
translucent textile membrane, which covers the steel-frame and creates magnificent light effects.
These orange membranes also cover the volume of the music hall itself. This is the heart of the building: a totally
enclosed and protected space, which creates a special theatre atmosphere.
Projections on the outer skin create playful effects and convert the façade into a huge billboard communicating
with the passers-by for upcoming events. While the buildings appearance exposed to daylight is of a monolithically
calmness that mutates at dawn. The inner experience is transmitted to the outside thought out the transparent
skin: the whole building becomes a “light sculpture”.