The New Comédie is more than a theater, it is not only a place of theatrical performance, with its two halls, but also a place of creation, with its large construction workshops. It is those who makes the New Comédie a real centre of artistic creation, bringing together all the theater professions under one roof. 

The “show factory” character was decisive for the design of the project, which had to be both a hyper-functional equipment and at the same time a unique building with its own identity.

The project places the performance halls at the heart of the volume, with an articulation of the programs that generates a unique cross-section, thus giving the building its identity. Circulation spaces, public and private, are located on the façades surrounding the programs to which they give access.

Where classical theaters distinguish the stage tower as the central element of the building's composition, the characteristic crenellated profile of the project expresses the multiplicity of activities taking place in the new theatre. 

The lobby space, generous and transparent, creates links between the inside and the outside, and expresses the theater's opening to the city. The crossing foyer gives access to the two halls, and creates another link between the two public spaces that surround the building. 

The architecture, discreet and neutral during the day, expresses the character of a place of creation and production. In the evening, a light staging transforms the building in a performance place, affirming its presence in the city, and inviting the public to the magic of the show. 

The building accommodates two complementary halls. Each of them develops it's own identity, both from an architectural and scenography point of view.

The greater hall is conceived in the continuity of the European theater, Italian style, with a pre-established front stage-hall relationship. The envelope is made of folded and faceted skin, like an origami, which acccommodates all the acoustic and lights devices specific to a theater hall.

The modular black-box type hall is dedicated to experimentation. An elementary and neutral volume, with a modular bleacher system, allow multiple configurations to be set up. The walls are covered with fiber-reinforced concrete slats, the patterns of which guarantees excellent acoustics. 

The two halls are highly technical spaces from a scenography point of view. The objective was to integrate all the technical requirements into the architectural expression while creating a poetic space capable of welcoming the spectator by creating a break between everyday life and the magic of the show.

The new multifunctional theatre designed by FRES Architectes, which opened on 28 August in the Eaux Vives district of Geneva, Switzerland, is staging its first performances. The Great Hall has been fitted with 498 armchairs made ad hoc by LAMM.

The Nouvelle Comédie de Genève theatre, open to artists and the public this season, begins its life just over a century after the opening of the original Comédie theatre located on the Boulevard des Philisophes, which fell into disuse several years ago because it was no longer suited to the technical requirements of the modern theatre scene. After a series of renovations were deemed unsatisfactory, the Geneva City Council finally opted for a new building to be located in the Eaux Vives district, near the Eaux Vives railway station designed by Jean Nouvel, and launched an international competition in 2009, which was won by the Paris-based company FRES Architectes.

Consisting of four large blocks that vary in height, linked by lower interconnecting parts, the new building, which was recently completed, is 100 metres long and 40 metres wide, and is inspired by the design concept of “a theatre in a city and a city in a theatre”. The concept took shape with two large glass façades at the front and back to create visual continuity with the surrounding public spaces and to make the workers in the workshop in which sets for new shows are built visible from the outside.

After sunset, the illuminated glass façade facing the square attracts passers-by, while the large perforated aluminium panels covering other parts of the building reveal the identity of the design. The theatre and space dedicated to it occupy 3400 square metres. This area includes the traditional Great Hall (342 square metres), a second smaller modular hall, rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms and the stage management area.

Thanks to the collaborative partnership with Italian contractor Merotto Milani, which was awarded a contract, LAMM was involved in fitting out the main hall (the so-called “Grande Salle”), for which an armchair was created ad hoc: this compact chair has sides reaching down to the floor and a damper-equipped tip-up seat for a quiet closure and cushioned bounce. When folded up, it takes up just 40 centimetres of space, allowing people to walk freely between the curved, tiered rows. The perfectly aligned and coplanar backrests provide a pleasant and elegant visual effect, creating a kind of continuous “wall”. Everything except the seatbacks, which are visible and made from FSC®-certified wood, is upholstered in Fidivi Orta Fabric. Of the 498 seats, marked with a place and row number embroidered into the fabric, 325 are fixed and 173 can be removed if necessary. Of these, 97 are completely detachable, with a seat and backrest that are easy to remove thanks to an interlocking system that does not require the use of any tools. The remaining 76 can be easily removed and taken out of the room in groups of two or three.

The innovative features provided for the New Comédie de Genève theatre are testament to LAMM’s brilliance in satisfying clients’ needs in terms of flexibility and customisation, bringing original and unprecedented solutions to each project, anywhere in the world.