Recently completed, ‘La Fabrique’ is a performing arts complex in Nantes, France.  It was built on a site previously occupied by warehouses, in a shipyard area that has gradually been transformed into articulated public spaces. Designed by Tétrarc Architectes, the building attempts to rediscover the history of the site-its connection to the shipbuilding tradition and the art movements that once thrived there.

The project is made of 3 distinct elements: the 400 Hall (with offices upon it), the 1200 Hal (two parts connected by a public Hall inserted in the concrete post frame of the Halle Dubigeon) and, finally, the studios situated in a volume suspended above an old air-raid shelter.

An auditorium which seats 400 individuals has been placed within the minimal concrete cube which once served as an air-raid shelter. Above the solid base, a faceted tower hosts the recording studios. The metallic volume is lifted on inclined columns generating a void which separates the two distinct building elements, doubling as an open-air terrace with views to the activity below.

Through pleated and perforated finishes on the building’s surfaces, referencing the metalworking expertise of shipbuilders, the project translates industrial history of the site into an art-producing piece of engineering.