From street level, this 19th-century building of the Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation in Paris does not stand out from the surrounding buildings. On closer inspection, however, it becomes apparent that a large metal leech is growing out of the former theatre, suctioned to the roof and courtyard. The foundation’s creatively adapted headquarters is the brainchild of Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Although fitting the entire headquarters into such a small plot of land proved to be quite a challenge, the surreal appearance rewarded the studio’s efforts.
Pioneering cinema
Built in 1869, the Théâtre des Gobelins operated until the 1930s, and the next owner arranged the building for a cinema. Against the backdrop of the historicising buildings of Paris, the edifice did not stand out much in terms of form, but an interesting element of the façade is the ornamentation designed by the famous Auguste Rodin. The author of such sculptures as the “Thinker” and the “Gate of Hell” placed sculptures of figures holding theatrical attributes on the façade. Classical decorations such as festoons, volutes or mascarons are also noticeable.
In the 21st century. Jérôme Seydoux – former chairman and shareholder of the legendary Pathé film studio – bought out the forgotten cinema building. A few years later, specifically in 2017, the former cinema was turned into the headquarters of the Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé Foundation, which preserves a sizeable collection of films and cameras from the turn of the 20th century. It is worth mentioning that the Pathé company, founded in 1896 by Charles Pathé, is the second oldest film company in the world.
Parametric genius
The most famous Italian architect of our time, Renzo Piano, known for projects such as the Pompidou Centre and London’s The Shard, had the task of fitting 2,400 sq m of floor space into a mere 839 sq m plot. The second major constraint of the project was the historic façade, which had to be preserved and restored. These impediments resulted in the unusual, alien shape of the metal building, which hung from just a few cantilevers.
Multi-level entrances lead to different parts of the headquarters. Downstairs are the archives and exhibition rooms holding the vast collections of early cinema. It is worth mentioning that the basement could not miss a cinema room as well. The lower floors have no access to sunlight, which helps with the conservation of the light-sensitive exhibits. The upstairs offices, on the other hand, offer very good daylight due to the transparent roof segments. The streamlined wooden roof structure blends in perfectly with the bright design of the offices. Interestingly, the silver colour of the façade is not a coincidence and is meant to refer to the zinc roofs of Paris. The total number of such silver aluminium panels is approx. 7000.
Renzo Piano’s mastery of space management is underlined by the fact that such a small plot of land still has room for a small birch tree to pass the time of employees and visitors. It can therefore be concluded that the alien, almost cosmic structure attached to the historic façade is a discreet and functional symbol of parametric architecture. Moreover, designing on the basis of modern technologies and their algorithms has solved the problem of limited space.
Photo source: RPBW, Michel Denancé
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