The new 18,000-sm Maison de l’Économie Créative et de la Culture en Aquitaine, or MÉCA, brings together FRAC for contemporary art, ALCA for cinema, literature, and audiovisuals, and OARA for performing arts, into one cultural loop. BIG and FREAKS freearchitects were selected to design the art and culture building back in 2012.
A series of steps and ramps leads from the pavement of the promenade, passed the façade that provides glimpses into the stage towers of OARA and the offices of ALCA, and into the 1,100-sm outdoor urban room at MÉCA’s core. During special occasions, the outdoor urban room (and other outdoor spaces) can be turned into a stage for concerts and theatrical performances, or an extended gallery for sculptures and other art installations. The façade comprises 4,800 prefabricated concrete panels interspersed with windows of various sizes to control the amount of light entering inside. The 1.6-ton concrete slabs are sandblasted to expose their raw qualities and to texture the surface with the local sandstone of Bordeaux.
When visitors enter MÉCA from the ground floor, they will be met with a lobby where they can relax in the spiral pit or dine at Le CREM, a restaurant furnished with red furniture and cork chairs, a reference to the wine the city is known for. Near the restaurant, a giant periscope allows visitors to see the activity in the outdoor urban room and vice-versa.
Also on the ground floor is OARA’s 250-seat theater. It features flexible seating configurations and acoustic systems optimized by an all-black checkerboard panel of concrete, wood, and perforated metal. On the second floor is an 80-seat, red-accented cinema and two production offices and project incubation areas. FRAC occupies the upper floors. These spaces include seven-meter-high exhibition spaces, production studios for artists, storage facilities, and a 90-seat auditorium and café.
Topping off the entire building is an 850-sm public roof terrace. The terrace serves as an extension of the exhibitions spaces and provides space for large-scale art installations and outdoor performances.
Related Stories
Adaptive Reuse | Jul 12, 2024
Detroit’s Michigan Central Station, centerpiece of innovation hub, opens
The recently opened Michigan Central Station in Detroit is the centerpiece of a 30-acre technology and cultural hub that will include development of urban transportation solutions. The six-year adaptive reuse project of the 640,000 sf historic station, created by the same architect as New York’s Grand Central Station, is the latest sign of a reinvigorating Detroit.
Museums | Jun 20, 2024
Connecticut’s Bruce Museum more than doubles its size with a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition
In Greenwich, Conn., the Bruce Museum, a multidisciplinary institution highlighting art, science, and history, has undergone a campus revitalization and expansion that more than doubles the museum’s size. Designed by EskewDumezRipple and built by Turner Construction, the project includes a 42,000-sf, three-floor addition as well as a comprehensive renovation of the 32,500-sf museum, which was originally built as a private home in the mid-19th century and expanded in the early 1990s.
Libraries | Jun 7, 2024
7 ways to change 'business as usual': The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library
One hundred forty years ago, Theodore Roosevelt had a vision that is being realized today. The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is a cutting-edge example of what’s possible when all seven ambitions are pursued to the fullest from the beginning and integrated into the design at every phase and scale.
Cultural Facilities | Apr 8, 2024
Multipurpose sports facility will be first completed building at Obama Presidential Center
When it opens in late 2025, the Home Court will be the first completed space on the Obama Presidential Center campus in Chicago. Located on the southwest corner of the 19.3-acre Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park, the Home Court will be the largest gathering space on the campus. Renderings recently have been released of the 45,000-sf multipurpose sports facility and events space designed by Moody Nolan.
Cultural Facilities | Mar 27, 2024
Kansas City’s new Sobela Ocean Aquarium home to nearly 8,000 animals in 34 habitats
Kansas City’s new Sobela Ocean Aquarium is a world-class facility home to nearly 8,000 animals in 34 habitats ranging from small tanks to a giant 400,000-gallon shark tank.
Cultural Facilities | Mar 26, 2024
Renovation restores century-old Brooklyn Paramount Theater to its original use
The renovation of the iconic Brooklyn Paramount Theater restored the building to its original purpose as a movie theater and music performance venue. Long Island University had acquired the venue in the 1960s and repurposed it as the school’s basketball court.
Museums | Mar 25, 2024
Chrysler Museum of Art’s newly expanded Perry Glass Studio will display the art of glassmaking
In Norfolk, Va., the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Perry Glass Studio, an educational facility for glassmaking, will open a new addition in May. That will be followed by a renovation of the existing building scheduled for completion in December.
Museums | Mar 11, 2024
Nebraska’s Joslyn Art Museum to reopen this summer with new Snøhetta-designed pavilion
In Omaha, Neb., the Joslyn Art Museum, which displays art from ancient times to the present, has announced it will reopen on September 10, following the completion of its new 42,000-sf Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion. Designed in collaboration with Snøhetta and Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, the Hawks Pavilion is part of a museum overhaul that will expand the gallery space by more than 40%.
Performing Arts Centers | Feb 27, 2024
Frank Gehry-designed expansion of the Colburn School performing arts center set to break ground
In April, the Colburn School, an institute for music and dance education and performance, will break ground on a 100,000-sf expansion designed by architect Frank Gehry. Located in downtown Los Angeles, the performing arts center will join the neighboring Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Grand by Gehry, forming the largest concentration of Gehry-designed buildings in the world.
Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024
Top 20 Public Library Construction Firms for 2023
Gilbane Building Company, Skanska USA, Manhattan Construction, McCownGordon Construction, and C.W. Driver Companies top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest public library general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
