The redevelopment of the Théâtre de Verdure, an iconic venue renowned for its outdoor performances that was originally inaugurated in 1956, has made it a new and stimulating space, open and accessible to all. It has been enhanced with a new 4-season concept that redefines the relationship between theatre and park, architecture and landscape, and the built and the natural—drawing inspiration from the enchanting site that houses it. The project includes the design of a new building, reconstruction of the stage set-up, and the redesign of the amphitheatre, public areas and circulation spaces.
The new, lighter structure of the stage invites the user into an environment where landscape and architecture coexist. Open front and back, even its sides are largely transparent. The creation of a new entrance, the extension of pathways within the theatre grounds, the pruning of low shrub strata and the preservation of the plant canopy are among the interventions that promote the site’s accessibility and create visual breakthroughs that connect the theatre to the park.
Materials were carefully considered to build the strongest possible connection between the site and the theatre. In keeping with the theatre’s original modernist design and the recommendations of a heritage committee, the new intervention presents the park through its architecture in a somewhat theatrical dialogue between landscape and architecture.
Its different uses are arranged in such a way as to promote cohabitation and synergy between the theatre and the park. It acts as a theatre, a park, an object, a garden and an open window onto the magnificent site it occupies. The result is a theatre with a first-rate stage infrastructure that can comfortably accommodate a crowd of 2,500 spectators and host major outdoor artistic productions, while integrating sensitively into the landscape.
