Clément Blanchet Architecture has been selected as the winner of an international competition for the design of a new cultural centre to be located in the Paris suburb of Gonesse, France, beating out proposals from Bernard Tschumi & Moreau Kusunoki.

Named Circus³ the facility features a unique tensile roof evocative of a circus pavilion, and will house a 1500 seat theatre for a variety of cultural performances and events.

“This a unique performance venue to EuropaCity and the region, that will be designed specifically to host an internationally branded show, featuring advanced technical features,” explained Clément Blanchet Architecture.

CIRCUS ³ is focused around three principle design proposals. The first is to allow for the landscape room to breathe and grow. The second is to raise a horizontal scenographic and flexible platform that will frame the main room of the complex. The third is to display the building as a metaphor for the circus, providing a place for all people and all activities to thrive and entertain.

The resulting design produces an urban effect that gestures toward the public plaza and becomes a new piece of “transparent infrastructure” where the public can gather and interact.

“The contemporary circus is the demonstration of an historical synthesis and at the same time of a technological engagement,” Clément Blanchet Architecture stated. “The superposition of programs and potentials improves the great entertainment but also maintains a collective memory of the classical typology.”

The central element of the building, the performance space, will use top-of-the-line technology to transform into a variety of configurations capable of housing shows of different types and sizes. 

According to the architects, the show is greater than just what is being formed on stage, but must resonate throughout the entire design:

“The place is the show; make the show, make the place.”